PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — The city of Belle Glade is just miles away from where a family's car plummeted into a canal off Hatton Highway, killing nine people,including six children.
News of the devastating crash spread through Belle Glade on Tuesday, with many people at a nearby Winn-Dixie telling WPTV's Stephanie Susskind they heard about what happened.
Muriel Willis has lived in the area for more than 50 years. She said she avoids Hatton Highway as much as possible.
"You have to be on pins and needles just driving down that road," she said. "It was really heartbreaking, because we’ve been down that road several times and that road is too dangerous. You have no where to pull off if your vehicle tears up."
Willis said she was devastated and scared when she heard about the crash, fearing it could be a friend of hers.
"I was very afraid, because I have a friend that usually travels that road and I got right on the horn and called her," Willis said, "because I thought maybe it could have been her and her grandkids."
Other people in the community told us while tragic, the news wasn't surprising, as they would like to see more safety measures in place.
"There are no lights over there, so you can’t see at night," Jenny Alonso said. "It's extremely dark."
Now the community is left thinking of the loved ones and lives cut short.
"They couldn’t have known the area," Willis said, "because I wouldn’t advise no one to go that way."
WPTV NEWS COVERAGE ON FATAL CRASH:
Region C Palm Beach County
6 children among 9 dead after SUV crashes into canal in Palm Beach County
Region C Palm Beach County
