A Son, 15, Ran Stop Sign in 80-mph Crash That Killed 3 Children and Grandmother. His Dad Is Going to Prison By Chris Spargo

A jury in Florida convicted the father of a teenager who killed four people in a high-speed crash back in 2023.

Richard Ferguson, 68, is now facing the possibility of life in prison after jurors found him guilty on four counts of manslaughter for the deaths of Trinidad Hernandez and her three grandchildren ages 1, 9 and 11, according to a copy of the arrest warrant obtained by PEOPLE.

Those charges stem from a crash that occurred on Sept. 3, 2023, when multiple eyewitnesses told police they saw Ferguson’s 15-year-old son run a stop sign while going a rate that authorities later determined to be “between speeds of 76 and 83 mph.”

The car then crashed into one being driven by Trinidad Hernandez, 50, who, according to the warrant, did not have a stop sign at the intersection.

Trinidad Hernandez and her 11-year-old granddaughter were both pronounced dead at the scene, while the other passengers in the vehicle were rushed to nearby hospitals, according to the warrant.

The 9-year-old boy and 1-year-old girl were declared dead at the hospital, the warrant states, while Angel Hernandez, the children’s grandfather, managed to survive despite sustaining severe injuries.

After the crash, multiple eyewitnesses said that family members of the four minor males in the other car, all of whom were 15, arrived on the scene and attempted to get the boys to leave, according to the warrant.

One eyewitness told investigators they overheard a conversation suggesting the teen driver had his father’s permission to use the vehicle despite being underage. According to the warrant, the father did not cooperate with the investigation, and both he and his son declined to provide sworn statements to authorities.

When police started to interview the other teenagers who had been passengers in the car being driven by Ferguson’s son, all three boys said that Ferguson “let [his son] use the car to drive for one of the boys to pick up a belt,” according to the affidavit.

The affidavit states that three teenagers told police Ferguson moved his own vehicle to let his son back the car out of the driveway, then told the boys to “buckle up and come right back.”

Instead of coming back home, the four went to a local park, which they had just left at the time of the crash, according to the affidavit.

The driver of the car previously pleaded guilty to manslaughter charges, according to court records, as part of a deal with prosecutors that requires him to remain in juvenile custody until the age of 19 and then complete two years of supervision.

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Ferguson took the stand in his defense before jury deliberations on Wednesday, and said that he never gave his son permission to drive his car, WKMG reported.

He testified that he told his son to move the car to make room for another vehicle in the driveway and that the teen then drove away without his consent.

Jurors needed a little over two hours to reach a guilty verdict on all four counts.

A sentencing hearing has not yet been set for Ferguson, who faces 37 years to life in prison.

In remarks to reporters outside the courtroom, Ferguson’s lawyer said that his client maintains his innocence, but did not say if he planned to appeal the verdict.