Attorneys for the lone survivor of a Belle Glade crash and the families of nine victims have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit that claims a rural detour was left in a dangerously unsafe condition. The complaint, submitted in Palm Beach County Circuit Court on April 22, 2026, lists survivor Jorden Hall and the appointed personal representatives for the nine people who died. The Aug. 5, 2024 wreck on Hatton Highway involved a rented SUV that left the road, struck a guardrail and flipped into a canal, killing nine members of the same family, including six children. The plaintiffs are asking for damages and a jury trial.
What the complaint alleges
According to the court filing, the plaintiffs have sued RS&H Inc., AIM Engineering & Surveying, Florida Roadway Guardrail & Signs, United States Sugar, New Hope Sugar Company, the Florida Department of Transportation and Palm Beach County. The complaint states that FDOT routed traffic onto Hatton Highway as a detour for an SR-700 resurfacing project and that the stretch used for the detour had compound curves, narrow or missing shoulders, poor lighting and missing warning signs. It also alleges that the metal-beam guardrail at the crash site was installed or repaired improperly and that an unpermitted dirt driveway cut through the rail, creating a gap that made the barrier more likely to fail.
Crash details from the NTSB
The NTSB reports that the crash happened at about 7:19 p.m. EDT on Aug. 5, 2024, when a 2023 Ford Explorer rented from Payless left the roadway at a roughly 90-degree left curve, displaced a metal-beam guardrail and came to rest upside down in a canal. According to the agency, the vehicle was carrying a 56-year-old driver and nine passengers. Nine people, including six children under 15, were fatally injured, and one adult survived with serious injuries. The NTSB notes that it is still gathering facts under investigation ID HWY24FH012 and may issue safety recommendations based on its findings.
Local safety concerns and history
Residents and local reporting have long described Hatton Highway as a risky shortcut, and the lawsuit points to a history of wrecks in the same area. The complaint cites 26 crashes within one mile between January 2011 and May 2024, including 19 crashes on the same curve and 14 that involved guardrail impacts. Local coverage has detailed complaints about poor lighting, inconsistent striping and missing warnings, concerns that now appear in the lawsuit and are summarized by WPBF 25 News. The suit argues that sending airport-bound detour traffic onto that stretch created a preventable risk that ultimately turned deadly.
Legal next steps
The complaint seeks damages in excess of $75,000 and lists recoverable losses that include funeral expenses, the value of prospective net accumulations and mental pain and suffering, and it demands a jury trial. The plaintiffs are represented by Pajcic & Pajcic, P.A., and Jeffrey D. Murphy, P.A., according to the court filing. The case is docketed in Palm Beach County Circuit Court as 502026CA004528, and under standard procedures the defendants will be served and will have an opportunity to answer or seek dismissal.
The NTSB docket shows that the federal investigation remains open, and its conclusions could influence both the civil case and future work on the roadway. Plaintiffs and local leaders say the lawsuit is aimed at holding responsible parties to account and at accelerating safety improvements at the curve where investigators have documented a long-running crash history.
