The 15-year-old survivor of a massive interstate crash that killed her parents and sister in January is back in Cobb County. But home for Lidiane Carmo is now with her uncle and aunt.
Lidiane was released last week from the Florida hospital where she had been a patient since Jan. 29, Pastor Bobby Curtis told the AJC on Monday afternoon. On Sunday, Lidiane returned to the International Church of the Restoration in Marietta, where she was greeted by hugs and smiles, Curtis said.
It was the same congregation that less than five weeks earlier had held a funeral for five people killed in the crash on I-75 in Florida. Lidiane was one of 15 members of the Brazilian church returning home from a conference when the group's two vans were involved in a multi-vehicle wreck near Gainesville, Fla.
Eleven people were killed, including Lidiane's parents – another pastor and his wife, Jose and Adriana Carmo – and her 17-year-old sister, Leticia. The pastor’s brother, Edson Carmo, and Edson's girlfriend, Rosa DeSilva, also died.
Lidiane, a high school freshman, was the only survivor of six people in her van. She remained in critical condition for several days after the crash, but since then has made a remarkable recovery, Curtis said.
"If you didn't notice the scar on her arm, you never would've know anything was wrong with her," Curtis said.
A bashful teenager, Lidiane has been overwhelmed by the attention from even those in her church family, Curtis said. At the same time, she's dealing with the reality of losing so many loved ones, he said.
Lidiane returned briefly to the home she shared with her parents and sister, Curtis said. But she is settling into life with the family members who have been by her side since the wreck.
The teenager also is getting re-acquainted with her maternal grandparents visiting from Brazil, a country she left as a toddler, Curtis said. But even that is difficult, the pastor said.
Lidiane's grandmother bears a striking resemblance to her mother, he said.
About the Author
