Parents of baby boy who drowned in Florida Everglades after a car wreck are charged with child abuse and neglect
The parents of a one-year-old boy who was thrown into the Florida Everglades and drowned when his family's pickup truck carrying seven people blew a tire last year have been charged in his death.
Marc Dorizar faces a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child, while he and the mother of his children, Charline Coriolan, are both charged with a total of 16 counts of child abuse and neglect in connection with the deadly September 3, 2020, crash.
Dorizar, 34, was driving Coriolan, 32, their four children ages one to 10 and another adult on Alligator Alley, the toll road that cuts through the Everglades, connecting Florida's east and west coasts.
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Marc Dorizar, 34 , and Charline Coriolan, 32 , the parents of one-year-old Marvens Dorizar, have been charged in connection with his drowning last fall
Authorities said Dorizar's vehicle carrying seven people, including four children, blew a tire and overturned in the Florida Everglades, ejecting the baby into the swamp
Rescuers spent two hours scouring the area in search of the missing baby
The Florida Highway Patrol says surveillance photos taken at a toll plaza show that one-year-old Marvens Dorizar was sitting on his mother's lap and the other three children and a 56-year-old woman were in the pickup's bed, also not secured in any way.
As they approached Fort Lauderdale less than an hour later, the pickup blew a tire and Dorizar lost control.
The truck went off the highway and barreled through a fence, overturning and landing on its roof. It took rescuers two hours to find Marvens' body, clad in a T-shirt and a diaper, in the swamp. The other children were injured and required hospitalization.
Chopper video from WSVN showed Dorizar collapse in grief after his son's small body was removed from the water following the frantic search.
A medical examiner later determined that the boy drowned.
The FHP says Dorizar knew the left tire on his 2006 Nissan Frontier was unsafe but drove anyway, reported Orlando Sun-Sentinel.
Divers found baby Marvens drowned in this canal in the Everglades
This news video shows the moment the child's body was removed from the swamp
Dorizar appeared distraught and collapsed on the ground; his three surviving children were injured
Authorities said Dorizar, pictured above with his family, knew the left tire on his 2006 Nissan Frontier was unsafe but drove anyway
Dorizar and Coriolan were arrested near Tampa on Tuesday. They were being held without bail on Friday in the Hillsborough County Jail pending their transfer to Broward County.
Court records in Hillsborough County reveal that Dorizar has racked up multiple civil and criminal traffic violations since 2012, including driving with a suspended license, failure to register a motor vehicle and failing to stop at a traffic signal.