Two brothers who lived through the high school mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, were among the injured after a speeding car slammed into pedestrians in Tampa, resulting in four fatalities.
According to a news release from the Tampa Police Department, the vehicle crashed into a business in the Ybor area just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 8, striking more than a dozen people gathered outside.
Three victims died at the scene, while a fourth died at the hospital. Nearly a dozen others were hurt.
A GoFundMe campaign created by a relative states that Connor and Brandon Dietrich were among the injured. Brandon sustained minor injuries, but Connor remains in critical condition with multiple serious injuries, including skull fractures, a lacerated spleen, and several broken bones, according to the fundraiser.
“The road ahead will be long, uncertain, and incredibly difficult,” their uncle Bill Muter wrote, noting that the fundraiser will allow the boys’ parents to remain by Connor’s side.
Their father, Bob Dietrich, told local outlet WYKC that the brothers had been sitting outside with their friend, Riley Hancock, when the car hit them. He said Brandon managed to break free after being pinned against a wall by the vehicle, and immediately rushed to help his brother and Hancock.
He also shared that the siblings survived the Feb. 14, 2018, shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
A separate GoFundMe has been set up to support Hancock’s recovery from multiple serious injuries.
Police identified the suspected driver as 22-year-old Silas Sampson, who was arrested at the scene. Authorities alleged that he had been driving at an extreme speed on I-275 before exiting and losing control of the vehicle.
Sampson faces four counts of vehicular homicide and four counts of aggravated fleeing with serious bodily injury, according to WFLA. Additional charges — including three counts of fleeing to elude and three counts of reckless driving — were filed by the Florida Highway Patrol, FOX 13 reported.
He appeared in court on Thursday, Nov. 13, where a judge ordered that he be held without bond, NBC News reported. His plea status remains unclear. His attorney, William Knight, noted that Sampson had no prior history of failing to appear in court, per the outlet.
