Fatalities reported in crash that shut down I-95
TITUSVILLE, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Four sisters, all under the age of 18, were killed in a crash along northbound lanes of Interstate 95 in the early evening hours of Memorial Day. Emergency crews responded to the crash in Brevard County, just south of the Garden Street exit in Titusville.
Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol said the driver of a Dodge Durango, a 34-year-old Leesburg woman, lost control of the vehicle which was carrying ten passengers.
All northbound lanes of Interstate 95 were closed for roughly an hour as paramedics worked to treat and transport the victims. Some were taken by helicopter to Wuesthoff Hospital in Melbourne.
Details and conditions of those who were injured were not immediately known. Troopers said a toddler in a car seat was ejected from the vehicle and sent over a 20-foot tall barrier wall. Remarkably, the toddler survived and was taken to a hospital in Orlando, where he remains in stable condition.
Multiple law enforcement agencies responded, with Volusia County assisting with the air transportation.
Steven Montiero, a spokesman for the patrol, says a preliminary investigation shows a front tire may have malfunctioned, causing the SUV to flip. He says three girls were pronounced dead at the scene and eight others were taken to a hospital. He says the people inside were family and friends. They weren't immediately identified.
Montiero says it's clear at least some people weren't wearing seatbelts.