14-year-old dies, sister in serious condition after crash in Alva

A crash in Alva killed a 14-year-old boy and left his sister in serious condition Wednesday afternoon.

A car and a box truck collided on Palm Beach Boulevard at Broadway Street just before 2:30 p.m.

“There’s someone that, a family here, that isn’t going to get their son back, and that’s heartbreaking,” Lt. Greg Bueno said. “There are siblings here that aren’t going to get their brother back. That’s heartbreaking, and there’s nothing any of us here can do to fix that at this point.”

The Florida Highway Patrol said the boy’s sister, 16, was driving a sedan and turned left into the path of a box truck, and it hit the car with the siblings on the passengers side. The girl was taken to the hospital in serious condition. The driver of the truck and his passenger were not injured.

“This is why we preach the same thing each and every day about being careful on the road, two eyes on the road, two hands on the wheel, and you’re mind on driving because this stuff is serious,” Bueno said.

Impacts from a serious crash are not physical alone. Dr. Laura Streyffeler said situations like this also cause serious mental scars for those involved.

“There is grief and then there is traumatic grief,” Streyffeler said. “And when the loss is caused by a sudden trauma, you know a family member is involved, that kind of trauma takes a long time to get over.”

The crash remains under investigation.

The Florida Highway Patrol no longer releases the names of those involved in crashes, citing Marsy’s Law.