I-95 pileups involving 17 vehicles leave 3 dead in Central Florida, troopers say
At least three people were killed and several others, including a child, were injured following a pileup of fiery crashes involving 17 cars and trucks on Interstate 95 early Thursday in Volusia County, troopers say.
Four crashes involving 11 cars happened in the northbound lanes and one crash involving a van, SUV and four 18-wheelers happened in the southbound lanes near the State Road 442 exit in Edgewater around 1:30 a.m., Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes said at a briefing. Several of the semi-trucks also caught fire, she said.
The highway has been shut down in both directions in the area for the investigation and cleanup. Closures are expected to last for most of the day, possibly into the evening.
Edgewater is about 18 miles south of Daytona Beach and the Interstate 4 exit. Montes says drivers should avoid I-95 and take alternate routes, such as U.S. 1.
At the time of the crash, smoke and fog had reduced visibility to near zero, Montes said. That was due to “superfog,” a rare event involving smoke — there was a prescribed fire in the area — and moisture, which can reduce visibility to less than 10 feet, according to WESH-TV meteorologist Kellianne Klass.
The National Weather Service had issued a dense fog and smoke advisory for areas around Edgewater in the morning.
“The drivers that were able to talk to us did say the visibility suddenly dropped to zero and they were unable to see inches from their vehicle,” Montes said. “Some of those drivers attempted to pull off at the shoulder and of course some of them stopped on the road and that’s again where we had our chain reaction crashes happen.”
A deadly wreck
The wreck was so bad, that Montes — who has responded to similar crashes where visibility has suddenly dropped — said she was “amazed that some of the people walked away from this and sad for those families who are going to have loved ones that didn’t survive or were injured.”
Video taken by a local TV news station showed part of the wreck — charred, destroyed and damaged semi-trucks (one reportedly exploded after catching fire) and a red car crushed between two semis. That red car was towing a motorcycle, and the bike ended up inside the car, WFTV reported.
Montes said several people were taken to the hospital, including a child who was airlifted. She said their injuries are not life-threatening. She said one person died in one of the northbound crashes and that two people — an SUV driver and a truck driver — died in the southbound lane crash.
Montes said the investigation will be lengthy.
The lieutenant also said smoky and foggy weather is a “phenomenon” that sometimes happens in Central Florida roadways, especially in the overnight hours. She offered some advice to drivers in the hope that it would prevent future tragedies on the road.
Some of her tips: Slow down, turn your low beams on, turn off your radio so you can hear what’s around you, use the roadway markings as your guide if you can’t see the road, and if you feel unsafe, get off the road.
This story was originally published March 3, 2022 at 7:49 AM.
