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Van Crash Critically Injures Four, Nine Others Also Hurt

October 20, 2005

Thirteen mentally disabled adults heading to a day of training and work were injured, along with their driver, when their van veered off a suburban Boca Raton road and slammed into a tree. Four of the 13 were in critical condition at Delray Medical Center and one was in serious condition, a nursing supervisor said. One victim was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach.

Four people were taken by TraumaHawk helicopter and ambulances to Delray Medical Center. The passengers, ranging in age from 20 to 55, live in Nazareth homes, three Boca Raton-area residences operated by Catholic Charities. The group homes each house six adults.

A spokesman for the Diocese of Palm Beach County, which operates the van, said after the accident that the diocese was unaware of the driver's past traffic violations and would not have allowed her to drive. The driver, Vena Valceus, 32, of Boynton Beach, had picked up passengers at three group homes and was headed to the Habilitation Center at 22313 Boca Rio Road, west of Boca Raton.

Their 1997 Dodge Ram van was traveling south on Powerline Road between Palmetto Park Road and Southwest 18th Street at about 8:30 a.m., when it left the road, authorities said. Valceus told her supervisor that another car cut her off, according to the diocese.

But Krystal Isaac, who lives at nearby Boca Pointe, said she was following the van and saw no other car. Isaac said her car and the van were both traveling around 45 mph, the posted speed limit. 'All of a sudden she went off into the grass and hit the tree,' she said. 'No brakes. No swerving. Nothing,' The van tore through a hedge, broke a concrete and blue tile wall bearing Boca Pointe logos, and slammed into the black olive tree.

Isaac dialed 911 on her cellphone and rushed to the van. 'The one in the (front) passenger seat was bent over. They were all bleeding from the head,' she said. 'They were all screaming, 'I want to go home.' ' Isaac said Valceus was screaming, 'I didn't mean to hurt my babies. I didn't mean to hurt my babies.'

The van's side doors were flush against the stone wall, so paramedics pulled some passengers through a back door, tearing out the bench seats. The two in front had to be cut out, Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue Capt. Don DeLucia said. Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman Paul Miller said investigators were trying to determine whether anyone wore seat belts.

According to driving records, Valceus was required to take a substance-abuse course in 1999. She was convicted of driving with improper equipment in 2001 and 2004. She was charged in 2001 with driving with a canceled, revoked or suspended license, but judgment was withheld. She was also charged in 2004 with speeding, but the disposition of the case could not be learned. Also, her personal injury protection insurance was canceled in 2004.

The diocese did federal and state criminal checks on Valceus and a private investigation but did not check driving records, spokesman Jim Brosemer said. 'That may be something we need to change,' he said. 'If we had known about substance abuse and speeding and other things she would not be driving.'