Two people are dead after their car slammed into a tree in Dania Beach early Wednesday.
The crash happened around 1 a.m. when a black Nissan Altima hit the tree on the Griffin Road median just east of Southwest 40th Ave.
Family said 20-year-old Berly Hyppolite died in the crash. Investigators say the crash also killed his passenger, 19-year-old Judith Jacques.
Another man in the car, 20-year-old Wilky Pierre-Rene is recovering at Memorial Regional Hospital.
That's where Pierre-Rene's sister Kathleen and two brothers spent the night with him.
"He kept asking for his friend Berly," said Kathleen.
The crash happened as the trio headed westbound in Dania Beach. The impact split the car in half, and the scene overwhelmed Hippolite's mother, Carmelite. She called out her son's name as she watched crews haul away the front half of the wreckage.
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She said her son was studying architecture at Broward Community College. Pierre-Rene is a student at DeVry University, his sister said.
Investigators say speed may have been a factor in the crash.
Follow Julia Bagg on Twitter at @juliabagg.
