NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A New York man has been blamed for the deaths of four children in a crash along Interstate 95 last year, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
An arrest affidavit shows that the incident happened around 4 a.m. on July 1, 2023, in the southbound lanes of the highway, just south of the Florida-Georgia state line.
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In a release, troopers said the man — Marvin Funes, 25 — had stopped in the travel lanes of I-95 to take a picture of the “Welcome to Florida” sign.
“Funes slowed his vehicle to 1-2 miles per hour in the center lane of Interstate 95,” the affidavit reads. “Interstate 95 is a limited access facility, which has a minimum speed limit of 40 mph.”
As a result of Funes slowing his car, another vehicle — which was traveling between 65 - 78 mph — slammed into Funes’ car from behind, deputies stated.
“The Florida-Georgia state line is located at the top of Scrubby Bluff Bridge that spans over the Saint Marys River,” the affidavit continues. “The southern side of the Scrubby Bluff Bridge is not visible to southbound motorists north of the bridge. (REDACTED) all died as a result from this crash.”
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According to investigators, Funes had four children in the back seat of his vehicle, which was only designed to hold three people. Three of those children were not buckled with seatbelts when the crash happened.
Last week, the Florida Highway Patrol announced that four children had been killed in the crash. In addition, detectives said that Funes’ driver’s license had been revoked at the time of the crash.
Troopers added that Funes was extradited to Nassau County from New York earlier this month.
Now, Funes faces four counts of culpable negligence involving the death of a child, and four counts of driving with a suspended license resulting in death.
He is held on a bond of $270,016.
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