Additional lawsuit filed in Orlando KinderCare crash

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A second family whose child was injured after a car slammed into an Orange County day care four years ago filed a lawsuit this week. 

The lawsuit was filed by the family of June DeCalzada on Tuesday. June was 3 years old when the car crashed into the KinderCare facility.

Her mother, Maria Arevalo, said her daughter is still haunted by what happened.

"She shuts down. I believe that she does remember certain bits and pieces of it," Arevalo said. 

In the lawsuit, Arevalo and her attorney claim KinderCare and others could have prevented what happened on April 9, 2014.

On that day, investigators said, Robert Corchado forced another driver off Goldenrod Road, sending him careening into the KinderCare facility just north of University Boulevard. 

Lily Quintus, 4, was killed when the car crashed through the front of the building.

DeCalzada and Kaleb Infante, 3, were both severely injured.

Arevalo said her daughter had multiple surgeries after the crash and suffers from a brain injury. She said it's unclear how the injuries will affect her daughter as she grows up.

"It's day-to-day with her. We're really focused on getting her better," she said.

Four years later, Arevalo joins the family of Kaleb Infante and filed another lawsuit against KinderCare, its owners, and the builders of the daycare. 

Her attorney, Geoff Moore with the Maher Law Firm, said the defendants could have prevented the crash.

"The way it was preventable was having either barriers or walls strong enough to stop or halt or at least diminish the impact from the car through the KinderCare facility," Moore said. 

The lawsuit also claims Corchado was negligent for causing the crash. He's now serving 40 years in prison. 

Moore said they're looking at who is responsible for the facility and its lack of proper structure, as well as who is responsible for the lack of barricades.

Arevalo said she is seeking justice and hopes this will prevent any future tragedies. 

"We're very confident this will bring justice to all the children and really set the tone for other schools to be proactive and put those barriers in so they can avoid this type of thing," she said. 

On Friday, KinderCare officials said they could not comment because they have not been served with the lawsuits. 

After the crash, Orange County started offering grants to install safety crash barriers at child-care centers to protect against vehicle impacts. County officials said as of Friday, no facilities have applied for the grant money.

"A letter and brochure were sent to 256 child-care centers. Staff speaks to child-care centers while canvassing for the BANC Program Working with the Early Learning Coalition of Orange County," a county official said.

For more information on the grant and to learn how to apply, visit www.ocfl.net/grants.