A Haines City family is in the hospital after the driver says a deer forced them off the road.
The crash happened near Cypress and Poinciana Parkways in Poinciana.
Three out of the five people inside were ejected from the vehicle. This included a one-month old girl, Valarie Martinez, who was in a car seat at the time.
21-year-old Roxana Cuavera and 49-year-old Maria Martinez-Hernandez were flown to Orlando Regional Medical Center. 1-month-old Valarie Martinez was flown to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. The driver, 19-year-old Raunel Martinez, and 4-year-old Elicio Martinez were not injured.
According to the Polk County Sheriffs Office, Cypress Parkway in the area of the crash is a two lane rural highway bordered by woods on both sides. There is no breakdown lane and the grass shoulders both slope down from the roadway. The speed limit is 55 mph and there is no street lighting or other forms of illumination.
The family was on the way home from the Osceola Regional Medical Center, after taking their 4-year-old son to the hospital for being sick.
The driver, Raunel Martinez, says he over-corrected causing the van to lose traction and start sliding and rotating counter-clockwise southwest across the roadway onto the south shoulder.
The right side tires then dug into the soft shoulder causing the van to start flipping sideways. As it flipped, Maria Martinez, Roxana Cuavera, and Valarie Martinez were all ejected. The van came to final rest on the driver's side in a shallow ditch on the south side of the roadway.
All those transported are currently listed as critical, but stable. Cypress Parkway was closed for approximately 4 hours during the investigation.
