Chain reaction crash with vodka truck kills a driver, shuts down turnpike for half a day
A hit-and-run driver started a chain reaction that ended with another driver dead and northbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike closed Wednesday morning at Interstate 595, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The crash happened at 4:58 a.m. on the chunk of the turnpike that’s in Davie. Northbound turnpike traffic was directed off at I-595 and the entrances to the northbound turnpike off 595 were blocked until early afternoon.
Traffic returned completely to normal around 1:10 p.m.
FHP said the driver of a northbound 2013 Infiniti JX SUV swung the car into the path of a 2017 Toyota RAV4 SUV, hitting the Toyota in the side. The Infiniti spun onto the right side shoulder, out of immediate danger. But the Toyota spun to the right, where it bounced off the median wall, then flipped several times back onto the highway.
FHP said the driver of a 2018 Freightliner box truck, which was carrying Bombora vodka, “was unable to avoid” hitting the Toyota “as it obstructed his path of travel.”
The Toyota’s driver, a 35-year-old, was killed.
Davie Fire Rescue took the box truck driver to Broward Health with “non-incapacitating injuries.” The Infiniti’s driver, FHP said, left before fire rescue or state troopers arrived.
This story was originally published May 10, 2023 at 6:13 AM.
