Deerfield Beach crash kills child, 18-year-old motorcyclist; 2 children critical, officials say

An investigation is underway after the Broward Sheriff's Office said a crash left one child and an 18-year-old motorcyclist dead and sent two other children and three adults to the hospital late Saturday night.

Officials said it happened around 8:30 p.m. along the 4100 block of West Hillsboro Boulevard in Deerfield Beach.

The sheriff's office said Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue found an overturned vehicle and multiple patients with critical wounds, with incident commanders declaring it a Level 1 Mass Casualty incident. 

According to the Broward Sheriff's Office, a motorcycle collided with a Nissan Sentra as the car attempted to make a U-turn. The force of the crash caused the vehicle to overturn.

Six people were inside the Nissan, including three children.  

Officials said three pediatric patients were taken to nearby hospitals for treatment. One was rushed with ongoing resuscitative care, while another was taken via helicopter. A young girl who was riding in the Nissan was transported to Broward Health Medical Center, where she later died. The adult driver of the Nissan and two adult passengers were also taken to the hospital.

The motorcyclist, who was identified as Maxwell Patel, 18, was pronounced dead at the scene.

A witness who saw the deadly crash in Deerfield Beach described hearing a motorcycle "going full blast" moments before the collision that killed a child and an 18-year-old motorcyclist and left two other children in critical condition.  

Chuck Trice, who witnessed the crash Saturday night, said the impact was immediate.

"You could hear the motors going full blast until he hit the car, and then it was dead blank and you saw the car flipped over," Trice said.

In the aftermath of the crash, Trice photographed Good Samaritans running toward the wreckage to help those trapped inside.

"You're glad if you are in a situation like that, people actually help," he said.

Trice said speeding is a recurring problem along West Hillsboro Boulevard and believes more needs to be done to address it.

"It makes it hard whenever you see someone driving that fast on the roads here because you see it every day," he said. "It's not responsible for other people's lives."

The crash remains under investigation.