Authorities say they are looking into why a semi-tractor trailer driver apparently failed to slow down near a closed off interstate exit in a crash that left a Palm Bay couple and their pet dog dead.
A total of seven people were involved in the crash that began at about 9:50 p.m. Wednesday at the southbound Interstate 95 exit to Malabar Road in Palm Bay and ended on the overpass. The roadway was closed for more than four hours and reopened at about 2 a.m.
“The full responsibility of the crash falls on the semi-tractor driver. We’re looking at everything involved but anytime you have a change in road conditions, whether it’s a pre-planned closure or something sudden, drivers need to be paying attention,” said Kim Montes, spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol.
Although the same strip of interstate has seen three accidents in recent days, officials say ongoing construction in the area does not appear to be a factor in the crash.
“If we had multiple crashes out there then we’d look into it but there’s not an issue with the road at this point, just inattentive drivers,” Montes said.
In addition to the two people who died, two people in another vehicle suffered serious injuries.
Two helicopters, which landed in the parking lot of the nearby Lowe’s Home Improvement store, airlifted them to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. Their conditions were unknown Thursday morning.
Two others, including a construction worker who was struck while fleeing the crash, were transported to hospitals. The police said the tractor-trailer's driver, Eduardo Avila, 38, of Miami Lakes, was not badly hurt. Florida Highway Patrol investigators ordered a blood sample but did not file charges.
“We’ll complete the investigation first before anything else is done,” Montes said.
The two people killed were identified as 48-year-old Todd Olthoff and Marcy Olthoff, 48, both of Palm Bay. They were traveling in a 2001 Infiniti, officials reported.
The Infiniti was dragged under the front left wheel of the tractor-trailer, which was loaded with produce.
It hit two more vehicles -- a blue Saturn sedan and a black Ford F-150, which were traveling in front -- and left behind a trail of wreckage, tire marks and metal scrapes on recently laid asphalt. A guardrail in the grassy median was damaged. Personal objects — a lottery ticket, a pencil and eyeglasses — littered the roadway.
The two occupants of the Saturn, 72-year-old driver Sandra Keen and passenger Philip Keen, 74, were transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne where they remained in critical condition. Both are from Palm Bay, officials reported. The driver of the 2001 Ford F150 was identified as Filbert Delva, 35, of Palm Bay. He suffered minor injuries in the crash and was treated at Palm Bay Community Hospital.
Troopers said the lead vehicle, the Ford, may have been slowing to make a late exit to Malabar Road. The tractor-trailer likely hit the Infiniti, then the Saturn, then the Ford.
"There was no braking until the impact," Cpl. Jim Nusl, the Florida Highway Patrol's lead investigator for the wreck, said of the tractor-trailer. "But after he struck the small car (the Infiniti), he lost the front brakes and some of the rear air brakes, so it continued until they became stationary on the overpass.”
The police closed the southbound lanes of the interstate between Palm Bay and Fellsmere roads, as rescuers removed the victims and the FHP investigated. The roadway reopened after 2 a.m.
The tractor-trailer, owned by American Fruit & Produce in Opa-locka, was the last to be towed. The black Infiniti was hauled away with its occupants still inside. FHP Sgt. Charles Thomas said the vehicle was "so mashed up" that it took time to determine how many people were inside.
After it was struck, the Ford pickup caught fire in the middle of the interstate. Flames engulfed the engine and the driver's-side wheel well.
Trooper William Craig was off duty Wednesday night as he controlled traffic under a contract with the construction company. Craig said he heard the crash, then saw the pickup truck burning and its driver in danger.
"He's in there, just sitting," Craig said. "It's on fire. He's in shock and doesn't know what to do. So I use the fire extinguisher and put it out."
The three-lane roadway is still under construction, with the right-hand lane blocked to traffic by orange cones. One worker at the site suffered minor injuries and walked into an ambulance without help.
"They were working on the road," Thomas said about the crew from West Palm Beach-based Ranger Construction. "He saw what was happening and tried to run away from the accident."
It was the third accident of the day in the construction zone, where a lane is being added to each side of the interstate. In an earlier wreck, a vehicle went off the roadway on northbound Interstate 95 and ended up in a Palm Bay Ford lot on Malabar Road.
Construction workers stood on the roadway Thursday morning, their shift interrupted by the crash. They talked and relived the moment when their co-worker was injured.
The group's supervisor, who asked not to be identified because the wreck was still under investigation, said the employees are trained in safety precautions but that "it's never good enough, evidently," when the expected happens.
"He was just jumping to get out of the way. It was self-defense, you know," the man said. "Out here, you learn to run fast and have eyes in the back of your head. But we're always 6 inches from disaster."
Provided By: floridatoday.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment