JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 12-year-old girl has died and five others are recovering after a three-car accident on the Southside Wednesday evening.
Natalie New, 12, a passenger, was listed in critical condition Wednesday night. She died at UF Health Jacksonville Thursday afternoon, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The driver, 48-year-old Kent New, is in critical condition. Just before midnight on Wednesday, Kent New was driving his GMC Yukon north on Southside Boulevard. The Yukon moved to change lanes but was unaware of the Honda Civic next to it.
This collision caused the Yukon to lose control and cross over all northbound travel lanes into the median.
The Yukon then hit the front of a Honda CRV, which caused the Yukon to overturn and land on the right shoulder of the southbound lanes.
The driver of the Honda CRV, 21-year-old Logan Davis, was listed in serious condition but has been discharged from the hospital.
According to a report released by the FHP, Natalie New was not wearing her seatbelt.
Kent New, Natalie's father, is a neurosurgeon at St. Vincent's Spine and Brain Institute. He was undergoing surgery late Thursday night and was in the ICU on Friday.
The CEO of St. Vincent's HealthCare, Moody Chisholm, released a statement Thursday evening: "We are deeply saddened by this tragedy. Our thoughts and prayers are with the New family."
Natalie was a student at The Bolles School and attended the school's Ponte Vedra Beach campus.
Jack Milne, head of Bolles' Middle School Bartram Campus, released a statement to Bolles students and parents Friday: "A loss of this nature is devastating to all of us in the Bolles community, and we ask each of you to keep this family in your thoughts and prayers. As plans emerge, we will let you know other ways we can stand with the New family during this saddest of times and try to be a source of future strength and comfort to them and their loved ones."
The driver of the Civic, 19-year-old Taylor Harris, was not injured.
News4Jax crime and safety analyst Gil Smith said tragedies on the road during the holidays are not uncommon.
"You have more people on the road trying to get to see their family and friends and they may be in a bit more of a hurry than they normally are, so you're going to have more accidents," Smith said. "In fact, there are more accidents this time of year during the Christmas and New Years than any other time of the year."
Charges are still pending in the accident.