ORLANDO, FL (WSFA) -
A south Alabama football coach and one of his young sons have died following a crash in Orlando, Florida. A second son is said to be in critical condition at this hour.
Carroll High School football coach Stacey Watters, 38, and his 10-year-old son, Quentin, were fatally injured in the crash and were pronounced dead on the scene. Watter's 9-year-old son, Jai, is seriously injured, according to Ozark City Schools Superintendent Mike Lenhart.
Jai Watters was rushed to Arnold Palmer Hospital for treatment. The driver of the second vehicle, Jaison McCray, 39, of Seffner, Florida, was not injured. Alcohol is not suspected to be a contributing factor in this case.
The Watters family was returning from a cruise trip when their vehicle was struck by a box truck, according to Orlando NBC affiliate WESH-TV . WESH reports that the father and two sons had apparently been separated from other family members who'd also gotten off the cruise ship. Those family members were not involved in the crash.
A preliminary report from the Florida Highway Patrol indicates Watters' 2007 Chevrolet Impala sedan pulled in front of a large box truck carrying 3,000 pounds of ice cream on State Road 520 in Orange County. The report indicates that both of the man's children were in seatbelts at the time of the crash though Watters, himself, was not using a seatbelt.
"This news certainly saddens us all," Alabama High School Athletic Association Executive Director Steve Savarese said Thursday afternoon. "Coach Watters was an energetic young coach who was making a difference in young people's lives. Our hearts and prayers go out to his family, his team, Carroll and Southern Choctaw schools and we pray God will sustain them all during this difficult time."
WSFA 12 News is working to gather reaction and additional details to this developing story. We have a reporter in Ozark at this time.
Superintendent Lenhart credited Coach Watters for turning Carroll's football program around, but called the deaths a big loss for the school and city of Ozark.
Watters was hired as head football coach at Carroll last year after seven years at Sumter County High School. He coached the 2009-10 school year at Twiggs County, Ga., and spent the 2010-11 year as an assistant at Linden, which posted a 12-2 record and reached the Class 1A playoff semifinals. After the Carroll team had struggled to a 1-9 record in 2010, he quickly energized the program and the Eagles improved to 3-7 in his first season (2011) and narrowly missed the playoffs with a 3-4 region record.
Check back with this story as more information becomes available.
Copyright 2012 WSFA 12 News. All rights reserved.
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