APPARATUS STRUCK AT FATAL FLORIDA CRASH
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
A deadly crash on Florida's Turnpike in south Osceola County this morning has killed five people, injured a sheriff's deputy and left as many as 11 cars and semi-trailer trucks mangled and scattered on the road, said Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
FHP Sgt. Jorge Delahoz said the multiple-vehicle accident happened at 8:20 a.m. near the location where the turnpike was closed Monday afternoon because of a 50-acre brush fire that burned in the mostly rural area.
"A thick bank of smoke flared up in the area and there was zero visibility," Delahoz said. "Right now the air is clear and you would never know there was a fire there."
The northbound and southbound lanes have been reopened, as of 6:26 p.m. A 51-mile stretch of the southbound turnpike was previously closed, between Yeehaw Junction at State Road 60 and St. Cloud at U.S. Highway 192 (from mile marker 193 to mile marker 244). Debris from the accident, including logs from a tractor trailer, car parts and shattered glass, were scattered all over the road.
According to troopers, the accident began as three separate crashes.
Two semi-trailer tractors first were involved in a fender bender with a truck on the southbound lanes at mile marker 209 in the Kenansville area. While Osceola sheriff's deputies and fire rescue responded to that accident, a bank of fog and smoke from a burning brushfire rolled into the area, reducing visibility.
As traffic began to build on the road, a BMW and sport utility vehicle crashed into a white truck carrying soda drinks and water. A semi-trailer tractor carrying wooden utility poles then slammed into the fire truck, which ran into the deputy responding to the initial accident.
Another tractor trailer then veered off the side of the road in an attempt to avoid the accidents and flipped on its side.
Five people were killed in the crash: Anita Zoet, 68, of Boynton Beach, the driver of the SUV; Rosette Vanhooydonck, 59, a passenger in the BMW; a 41-year-old man and a 50-year-old woman from Belgium in the BMW, and Jimmy Daugherty, 67, of Gainesville, the driver of the trailer carrying the poles, according to the FHP.
The driver of the BMW, Giannino Mazzaro, 68, of Kissimmee, was airlifted from the site of the crash and is listed in critical condition at Holmes Regional Medical Center.
Deputy Marcus Bryan will spend Tuesday night at Holmes Regional Medical Center, where he underwent surgery Tuesday for a hand injury, said Osceola County sheriff's spokeswoman Twis Lizasuain.
Bryan suffered severe bruising and abrasions to his face and upper body. Lizasuain said Bryan was likely struck by a vehicle and one of the poles being hauled by a semi-tractor trailer.
"He's very fortunate to not sustain more serious injuries," Lizasuain said.
Our Thanks go to Firefighterclosecalls.com for this story