Traffic alert: Palmetto reopens after long shutdown from deadly crash

Seven hours after a crash shut down a stretch of the southbound Palmetto Expressway near Doral, the lanes reopened Friday afternoon.

Deputies say that a gun was found at the scene, and that the crash was caused by the suicide of a man while driving a pickup truck. His identity has not been released.

The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office responded to the crash around 6:25 a.m. in the area of Northwest 54th Street and 77th Court, said spokesman Joseph R. Peguero Rivera.

Investigators say a pickup truck was going east when it “continued through the intersection and collided with a concrete barrier wall,” Peguero Rivera said in an email to the Miami Herald. The car went over the barrier wall and into the southbound lanes of the Palmetto Expressway and struck another car.

The driver of the pickup truck died, deputies say. The driver of the second car was injured and taken to the hospital and are now in stable condition.

Traffic cameras showed two mangled cars on State Road 826 as rescue crews work to clear the area.

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue’s active call log showed 12 units on the scene.

The lanes were shut down on the Palmetto between 58th and 36th streets, causing major delays and backups. It reopened around 1 p.m.

If you or someone you know is thinking about self harm, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. It’s available 24/7.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

This story was originally published April 17, 2026 at 8:47 AM.