Court records show that the father of a teenage driver police caused a crash that killed four people in Poinciana.
68-year-old Richard Seymour Ferguson died on September 3, 2023 on four counts of vehicular manslaughter at the intersection of San Miguel Street and Laurel Avenue, in the deaths of a 50-year-old woman and three young children. Court records show that he was indicted.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash was caused by Ferguson’s 15-year-old son, an unlicensed driver. According to Ferguson’s arrest affidavit, he was driving a white 2012 Chevrolet Impala when he ran the stop sign around 7pm and collided with the grey 2022 Honda HR-V. The FHP calculated that he was driving 76-83 mph on a 30 mph road at the time of the impact.
Honda hit a metal light pole and a wooden power pole, but Chevrolet rested in a roadside ditch. The women, Trinidad Hernandez and the 11-year-old Honda girl were declared dead at the scene, while the 9-year-old boy and the 1-year-old girl were declared dead at the hospital. The fifth passenger, Angel Hernandez, was airlifted to a hospital where he was seriously injured, court records show.
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Ferguson’s son was in Chevrolet with three other unauthorized 15-year-old boys. At least three of the four residents told law enforcement that they were at Ferguson’s home and planned to drive to watch a movie later that evening.
They say Ferguson’s father lets his son drive a Chevrolet, he can pick up a belt for one of the boys, he moves the pickup truck out of the driveway of the house, and they leave the Chevrolet He said he could even do it.
He told his son to come back soon, but the boy drove to Deerwood Park for a few minutes before heading to Laurel Avenue. Witnesses responding to the crash told police that the boy had gone to the park for the basketball court and that he was in trouble with his parents because he wasn’t where he was supposed to be.
Ferguson was booked at Osceola County Jail. His first court appearance was Thursday at 1pm, according to court records. He was not eligible for pretrial release and his bond was set at $60,000.
