Investigators are piecing together what led to a fatal car crash in Florida late Sunday that left five teenagers dead. The teens, aged 18 and 19, were traveling in a black Kia sedan when the driver seemingly lost control of the car as Challenger Boulevard turned into Top Golf Way in Fort Myers. The car ended up submerged in a retention pond.
Four of the teens — Eric Paul, Jackson Eyre, Amanda Ferguson, and Brenna Coleman — worked together at a nearby Texas Roadhouse restaurant and were good friends. The fifth victim, Jesus Salinas, was not a coworker. The restaurant closed Monday to honor its beloved employees.
The teens all worked Sunday night.
Alan Hansen, a market partner for nine Texas Roadhouses in Florida, told News-Press all of the teens had a shift on Sunday, but a couple of them got off early. They returned to the restaurant to go out and get fast food together at the end of the night.
Hansen said they had all been employed by the restaurant for two to three years and were working at either the to-go station or as hosts the night of the accident. "They were leaders in our restaurant," he said, per the news outlet. "They knew how to be great examples."
The accident happened after 10 p.m.
Details continue to emerge about how the accident occurred. According to police, the driver must have lost control of the car between 10 p.m. Sunday and early Monday morning. WINK News reported that the vehicle was submerged and it took firefighters a long time to recover it.
“We removed the vehicle from the lake,” said Detective Kyle Martin of the Fort Myers Police Department. “The investigation is in its very infancy. We’re still completing an investigation, so there’s not a whole lot of details we can provide as far as the mechanisms or what happened at the moment, so that’s still ongoing.”
Shout out to @texasroadhouse in Fort Myers for the special gifts for their high school seniors! My senior and I really appreciate the fact that you took the time and money to recognize your employees! #impressed #greatleadership #texasroadhouse pic.twitter.com/BIQ9K5AwfT
— Mrs. Eyre (@MrsEyre11) June 25, 2023
The teens had plans for their future.
Some of the teens were recent high school graduates. Eyre, a baseball player and son of Willie Eyre, head baseball coach at South Fort Myers High School, planned to attend Fort Myers Technical College in the fall, the News-Press reported.
“I was in complete shock. I can’t even focus in class today. It was insane,” said Ibrahim Shaw, the victims’ friend and coworker.
Friend Wisner Henry also worked with the teens and said they had big dreams. “Like, he had dreams like he wanted. He wanted to become a firefighter I remember, and Jackson, he wanted to become a welder,” Henry told the news outlet about the victims.
Texas Roadhouse closed Monday.
Hansen told WINK News the restaurant planned to install a memorial to the beloved teens.
“It’s a place of comfort for many of them,” he said. “These four kids, they worked with us a lot. They spent a lot of time here. This is where we come together to break bread, at Texas Roadhouse here tonight, and their families are obviously welcome. We just want to recognize their lives and the good that they’ve done in our society and in our group here at Texas Roadhouse.”
We are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life in the incident involving a submerged vehicle and our hearts go out to...
Posted by Fort Myers Police Department on Tuesday, June 27, 2023
The fatal crash is under investigation.
Fort Myers police are asking anyone with details about what may have led up to the crash to submit tips to the Atlas One public safety app or through SWFL Crime Stoppers.
“They loved everyone around them,” Shaw told WINK News “They love their friends family, and I know now they’re looking down on us hoping that we do better for them and keep on pushing forward in life.”
