Dade and Broward County Injury News

Deadly Accident on Florida’s Turnpike

Posted on Oct 21, 2008

According to Florida Highway Patrol, eight people were inside the sport utility vehicle last Friday night, October 17, 2008, when it crashed into the canal. The vehicle had rolled over a cable guard rail off of Florida’s Turnpike and ultimately came to a stop in the canal.

Police were able to find seven individuals immediately, but had difficulty finding a 5-year-old boy that night. Rescue workers returned to the crash site the next morning to continue the search. Divers with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s office searched the canal by raking the bottom. They were able to find the boy’s body within an hour.

Four other people also died in the devastating crash. The driver, who was a 23-year-old woman, a 40-year-old female passenger, a young boy and 6-year-old girl died while being transported to the hospital.

The three other passengers, including one adult and two children were taken to the hospital with injuries. The adult, a 41-year-old woman, was treated and released on Saturday. One child was reported as being in fair condition, while the other was reported as being in serious condition.

Florida Highway Patrol stated that the family was traveling from Orlando to Fort Lauderdale for a religious event when the left rear tire of the SUV was damaged. Lt. Tim Frith said that “It appears there was a tire malfunction where the tire actually went down and then probably separated. There were gouge marks in the roadway where at some point the vehicle began to overturn.”

It is believed that the tire failure caused the SUV to roll several times and go over a cable guard rail. The vehicle then crashed into a fence and submerged into the canal. When Florida Highway Patrol arrived, they found the SUV in the water.

Three of the SUV’s occupants were ejected from the vehicle. It was later discovered that among the five who were killed, only the driver was wearing a seatbelt.

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