9-Year-Old Dead In Fort Pierce Following Christmas Day Crash

Family and friends are remembering the boy who turned 9-years-old on Christmas -- then died in a car crash on his birthday.

Candles and mementos lined Cortez and Sunrise boulevards in Fort Pierce, where the crash happened, to honor Issac Santillan. 

Authorities say Santillan, who turned 9 on Monday, was one of four people in a Toyota Corolla that crashed into an unoccupied, parked Ford pickup. Issac died at the scene. 

Santillan’s 5-year-old sister, Alani Ruiz, was flown to St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach and is in critical condition, police said.

Police say the kids' father was driving the car that skidded through the intersection and slammed into the parked truck.  

The father, Julio Ruiz, and an unidentified woman were injured and taken to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce. Ruiz is in stable condition and the woman is in critical condition, according to police. 

Authorities say speed may be a factor.


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