Weeks before school ends, Concord-Carlisle High seniors Jimmy McIntosh, Hannah Wasserman and Maisey O’Donnell died after a Florida car crash.

• 3 Massachusetts high school seniors were killed after a car crash in Florida’s Panhandle.
• The students’ SUV collided with a tractor-trailer making a U-turn.
• 2 students died at the scene, and a third died later from injuries.

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.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – In the state capital, a bill heading to the Senate floor could change how leadership is chosen within Florida’s higher education system.

Florida legislators pass bill that could reshape how universities select their leadership

The 15-page Senate Bill 1726 addresses various topics related to governance and accountability in Florida’s higher education institutions.

Sen. Alexis Calatayud, representing District 38, emphasized the bill’s intent to uphold academic excellence and accountability.

“The legislation aims to maintain Florida’s commitment to academic excellence and accountability in higher education through changes in governance structure, responsible oversight, and enhanced transparency,” she said.

Under the proposed legislation, the presidential search committee would be required to present three applicants for “final consideration.”

In 2022, former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse was named the sole finalist for the presidency at the University of Florida. His appointment faced significant backlash from students.

Sasse stepped down in July, prompting a new search for leadership in Gainesville.

During the Senate Rules Committee meeting, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, representing District 11, raised concerns about the selection process after the finalists are named.

“Who picks the actual new president? Is it the trustees or is it the Board of Governors?” he asked.

Sen. Calatayud responded that the bill aims to ensure an institution-specific process.

“This bill is focused on making sure it’s an institution specific process and so we have that separation of the university trustees are selecting the president from the three applicants,” she said.

Ingoglia expressed concerns that this approach could shift decision-making authority away from the state level and the Board of Governors, which oversees the operation of the state university system.

The Board of Governors consists of 17 members, 14 of whom are appointed by the governor. This board typically performs the confirmation process for university leadership. If the final decision were to rest with the university’s board of trustees, which has 13 members—six appointed by the governor, Ingoglia said that could raise some legal questions.

“How is this not unconstitutional where you’re giving the trustees final say so over the [Board of Governors] when the constitution has it exactly the converse?”

In response, Calatayud said, “It is our belief and understanding that this is a process that is permissible constitutionally.”

Despite the pushback, the bill successfully passed its final committee vote and is now headed for the Senate floor.