VERO BEACH (CBS12) — Four people are dead, including a 7-year-old boy, following a crash involving five vehicles on Interstate 95 in Indian River County.
The deadly crash occurred on I-95 northbound near mile marker 153 at 2:15 a.m. on Monday morning, near Fellsmere, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The crash involved five vehicles and 11 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, 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 said their vehicle then collided with a Suzuki.
According to FHP, as the drivers of the Camry and Suzuki were helping the Dodge Journey’s occupants, a Freightliner tractor-trailer approached the scene and collided with it.
The FHP report indicates that the drivers of the Camry and Suzuki were struck outside of their vehicles by the semi-truck and died at the scene.
After the initial collisions, a Chrysler Pacifica also became involved in the accident. According to FHP, the driver swerved to avoid the disabled vehicles but collided with the disabled Toyota Camry. The 27-year-old driver of the Pacifica and a 25-year-old woman who was a passenger, both from Canada, were taken to area hospitals.
The 7-year-old boy and the 40-year-old driver of the Dodge Journey were declared dead by officials.
The other people involved in the crash were transported to local hospitals, except for the truck driver, who was treated and released at the scene.
WPEC-CBS12 is a news partner of the South Florida Sun Sentinel.