Florida
3 Massachusetts high school students dead, 1 injured after Florida car wreck
Weeks before school ends, Concord-Carlisle High seniors Jimmy McIntosh, Hannah Wasserman and Maisey O’Donnell died after a Florida car crash.
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A fatal car wreck in the Panhandle led to three Massachusetts high school seniors dead and one critically injured, according to law enforcement and school officials.
The Florida Highway Patrol said on April 21, an SUV with four 18-year-old students from Concord-Carlisle High School collided with a tractor-trailer making a U-turn in the paved median of U.S. 98 in Walton County.
The driver and one passenger were pronounced dead at the scene, the FDLE said. The other two passengers were transported to a hospital to be treated for severe injuries, and one died the next day, according to school officials.
What happened in the Florida crash that killed Massachusetts students?
According to the FDLE, at about 9:28 p.m., the students were traveling westbound in an SUV on Highway 98 in Inlet Beach about a mile west of South Watersound Parkway when it crashed into a tractor-trailer making a U-turn in the median.
The SUV was thrown across the median and both eastbound lanes before coming to rest near a wooded tree line.
The SUV’s driver, identified as Jimmy McIntosh, and a front-seat passenger, Hannah Wasserman, were declared dead at the scene. The other two passengers were rushed to Ascension Sacred Heart Bay Hospital in Panama City in critical condition.
McIntosh was wearing a seatbelt, according to the crash report.
The people in the tractor-trailer — a 19-year-old driver from DeFuniak Springs and a passenger, a 23-year-old man from Panama City Beach — were not injured, the FDLE said.
The FDLE said the crash remains under investigation.
Who was killed in the Walton County, Florida, wreck?
The two people who died at the scene have been identified as Concord-Carlisle High School seniors Jimmy McIntosh and Hannah Wasserman, according to a statement from Concord-Carlisle Regional School District Superintendent Dr. Laurie Hunter.
“We offer our deep condolences to the families and friends of Hannah and Jimmy during this unimaginable time. Their loss will be deeply felt by our school community as well as by so many families in Carlisle and Concord,” Hunter said in a statement. “We are also keeping the other two students in our thoughts and wish them strength and a swift recovery.”
In a message to parents, staff and students, Concord-Carlisle High School Co-Principal Katie Stahl identified the two students injured in the wreck as Lauren Costa and Maisey O’Donnell.
Hunter announced the next day that O’Donnell had also died.
“It is with great sadness that I share additional information about the tragic car accident in Florida. We learned that a third CCHS senior, Maisey O’Donnell, passed this afternoon. Maisey is in the organ donation program as her family hopes that it will give meaning to these meaningless tragedies,” Hunter said.
Concord, Massachusetts, where the school is located, sits about 25 miles northwest of Boston.
Austin Smotherman will carry a three-stroke lead into the weekend at the Cognizant Classic at The Palm Beaches.
Smotherman followed his opening 62 with a 2-under-par 69 on Friday at PGA National’s Champion Course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. That brought him to 11 under, comfortably clear of Taylor Moore, who is in second after his second straight 4-under 67.
Cognizant Classic scoreboard
“Yeah, leading a PGA Tour event, come on, pretty awesome,” Smotherman said.
Smotherman, 31, is in fine position for his first win on the PGA Tour since turning pro a decade ago. He has won three times on the Korn Ferry Tour, including last June.
Afterwards, he credited himself with playing “Austin Smotherman golf.” When asked what that meant, he responded, “as boring and simple as it can be.
“That’s what I want to do out there. I feel like I ball strike it good enough to have that kind of boring golf, a bunch of fairways ideally,” he said.
He suffered three bogeys Friday after a bogey-free opening round, but the key stretch for him after starting on the back nine was between Nos. 17 and 3. He birdied four holes in that stretch, starting with a 54-foot bomb at the par-3 17th hole.
“Anything under par I thought would have been (good) following up a round like yesterday, which was a special one,” he said, “and try not to get too far ahead of myself thinking I’m going to make every long putt I’m looking at, like kind of was the feeling yesterday, and then today I still make a 55-footer on 17.”
Moore overcame a bogey in each half of his round with three birdies on either nine, more than counterbalancing the rough patches to earn his second straight solid score.
“I think very different 67s,” Moore said when comparing his rounds. “I didn’t hit many fairways yesterday, kind of grinded a lot, had a couple chip-ins, which obviously helps. I thought I struck the ball much better today. Drove it in the fairways on the par-5s, I felt like. Yeah, still had a few up-and- downs, obviously, with the tough windy conditions this afternoon, but overall I thought it was solid.”
Canadian A.J. Ewart had the round of the day, a 64 that powered him to 7 under for the week. He’s tied with Colombia’s Nico Echavarria (72), and Joel Dahmen is in fifth at 6 under after a second consecutive 68.
Ewart, who played for nearby Barry University in college, came in with some familiarity.
“We used to come and watch this tournament when I was at school. I think I came up here twice, maybe three times and watched,” Ewart said. “I had never actually played the golf course, but I felt like I knew it just from watching it.”
Irishman Shane Lowry, one of the most recognizable players in the field, is in a large knot for sixth at 5 under after posting a 67. Defending champion Joe Highsmith made the cut on the number at even par.
Notable players who missed the cut included Webb Simpson (1 over), Gary Woodland (2 over), Matt Kuchar (2 over) and Canada’s Adam Hadwin (3 over).
Kim maintains narrow lead in Singapore
Auston Kim maintained a narrow lead over three seasoned competitors with a 3-under-par 69 on Friday at the HSBC Women’s World Championship in Singapore.
Kim carded five birdies and a double-bogey at the par-5 16th hole at Sentosa Golf Club to move to 9-under par, one shot ahead of major champions Minjee Lee of Australia (64 on Friday) and Thailand’s Ariya Jutanugarn (67) and three- time LPGA Tour winner Haeran Ryu of South Korea (68).
Lurking two shots back at 7-under in the no-cut event are Australia’s Hannah Green (66), Denmark’s Nanna Koerstz Madsen (68), Sweden’s Linn Grant (69) and England’s Mimi Rhodes (69).
Kim, an LPGA Tour member since 2024, has been knocking on the door of her first tour win. The American has eight finishes in the top 10 and was the runner-up at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship last season.
“I think just sticking to my process. I’m trying to earn each shot and win each shot and win each day,” Kim, 25, said of her strategy heading into the weekend. “I can put a hundred percent of my focus into every single shot and try my best to execute each time, I’ll do well.”
Lee soared into contention with an eagle at the par-4 second hole and six birdies in a bogey-free round.
“I think just I holed a few more putts out there,” Lee said of the difference between Friday’s play and her opening-round of 72. “I holed a few long ones and I also holed out for eagle on the second. That always helps the score.”
Jutanugarn had six birdies, including three straight from holes Nos. 5-7, and one bogey.
Ryu collected four birdies in a round free of bogeys, but not free from pain.
“Today, my neck was so bad and I cannot turn it around, it’s so hard, my neck,” Ryu said. “But yeah, golf is not perfect. I just think about it, just hit the fairway and the green. Yeah, that’s good for me. There’s a lot of birdies, and yeah, I’m so happy.”
Angel Yin matched Lee for the low round of the day with a 64 to move into a tie for ninth at 6-under.
Defending champion Lydia Ko of New Zealand (72) remained a 2-under posting four birdies and four bogeys.
World No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul of Thailand is tied for 33rd at 1-under after a round of 70.
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