HOMESTEAD, Fla. – A 15-year-old boy killed in a crash Tuesday in southwest Miami-Dade County had recently moved to South Florida from Peru, family and friends said.
Shandel Mio and another student were traveling in a Toyota Scion when it veered off to the shoulder of Southwest 112th Avenue, then overcorrected and slammed into an oncoming SUV and a Honda Odyssey.
Authorities said the wreck was so violent that it tore off the front half of the Scion, killing Mio and throwing the other student, the driver, from the vehicle. Four other people were also hurt in the crash.
His mother, Doris Matienzo, said she is still in denial, hoping her son is still coming home.
Mio was a freshman at Homestead High School. Friends described him as a leader and a jokester.
Teddy Cubillos, a family friend, started a GoFundMe page to help Shandel's family pay for funeral expenses.