VERO BEACH,. Fla. (CBS12) — Four people are dead, including a 7-year-old boy, following a crash involving five vehicles on I-95 in Indian River County.
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) reported that the deadly crash occurred on I-95 northbound near mile marker 153 at 2:15 a.m. on Monday morning. The crash in total involved five vehicles and eleven people.
Officials stated that the chain of events began when a 37-year-old woman from Miami, driving a Toyota Camry, rear-ended a Suzuki Vitara driven by a 40-year-old man from Miami for unknown reasons, causing both vehicles to become disabled on the highway.
Meanwhile, a 40-year-old woman from Palm Bay was driving a Dodge Journey with a 7-year-old boy, a 2-month-old boy, a 9-year-old girl, a 5-year-old girl, and a 42-year-old man as passengers. FHP stated their vehicle then collided with a Suzuki, leading to further complications.
According to FHP, as the drivers of the Camry and Suzuki were helping the Dodge Journey’s occupants, a Freightliner semi approached the scene and collided with it.
The report states that the drivers of the Camry and Suzuki were struck outside of their vehicles by the semi-truck and died on the scene.
After the initial collisions, a Chrysler Pacifica driven by a 27-year-old man and carrying a 25-year-old female passenger from Canada also got involved in the accident. According to FHP, the driver swerved to avoid the disabled vehicles but collided with the Toyota Camry.
The accident’s aftermath saw the vehicles scattered across the roadway and shoulders, each coming to a final rest in various positions.
The 7-year-old boy and the 40-year-old woman from the Dodge Journey were declared dead by officials.
The other people involved in the crash were transported to local hospitals, except for the semi-truck driver, who was released from the scene.