Tragedy in Brandon

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Emily Manzano, right, died at the scene of the crash.

Three people were killed early Friday morning coming home from Tampa International Airport.

Sixty-five-year-old Emily Manzano of Brandon had picked up four of her relatives from TIA, and was driving them back to her home at about 3 Friday morning. They were guests coming in town for the wedding of Manzano's daughter, Kathy.

Manzano's 2004 Mercedes was hit on the driver's side by a 2003 Dodge Durango at the intersection of Lumsden Road and Parsons Avenue in Brandon. Investigators said someone ran a red light, but it's not yet clear which vehicle.

Minzano and two passengers, 58-year-old Sonia Medders of Oceanside, Calif., and 37-year-old Juliebeth Olega of Clifton Heights, Penn., were killed. The other two passengers, 46-year-old Victoria Weaver of Sparks, Nev., and 73-year-old Lilia Foster of Sparks, Nev.,

All five of the people in the Mercedes were related.

are in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital.

The driver of the Durango, 34-year-old Ken Stewart of Lakeland, and his two passengers, 49-year-old Tommy Walker of Rochester, NY, and 29-year-old Anthony Close of Rochester, NY, are in serious condition at Lakeland Regional Medical Center.

Investigators say deputies smelled alcohol on Stewart and took a blood sample for a BAC test. Results should come back in a couple of weeks.

The crash is still under investigation. Manzano was the wife of Hillsborough County Sheriff's community officer Wilfredo Manzano, but Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Public Information Officer J.D. Callaway said that fact will not cause a conflict of interest.

The three people in the Durango were hospitalized.

"We're confident in the ability of our investigators to present the facts, to gather the facts as they see them," Callaway said. "The Hillsborough State Attorney's Office was out at the scene this morning and they're well aware of what we're doing with the investigation and they're working at our elbow with it."

The Manzano family said the wedding will still proceed on Saturday as a way to honor the victims.

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