Three people died and others were hurt Thursday during a pileup on Interstate 95 in Volusia County, Florida, and authorities cited thick fog as a factor.
“Troopers said 17 vehicles, including several tractor-trailers, were involved in five crashes around 1:30 a.m. on both sides of the highway near the State Road 442 exit in Edgewater, south of Daytona Beach,” ClickOrlando.com reported.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), four crashes involving 11 vehicles occurred on the interstate’s north side where one individual was killed and two others died during a six-vehicle crash on the interstate’s south side.
“The crash involved four semis, a van and an SUV, according to troopers, who added that the drivers of one of the big rigs and the SUV died in the crash,” the outlet continued.
In a social media post on Thursday, journalist Amanda McKenzie reported authorities said “dense fog” was hovering over the interstate.
Photos of the scene showed mangled vehicles and what appeared to be a semi-truck on fire:
BREAKING: At least 15 vehicles involved in deadly crashes along I-95 in Volusia county, according to Florida Highway…
Posted by Amanda McKenzie on Thursday, March 3, 2022
FHP said a child was transported to Arnold Palmer Hospital and several other people were hospitalized, noting the child was listed as being in stable condition.
“Troopers said at least two tractor-trailers burst into flames during the crashes,” the ClickOrlando.com article read.
In a social media post Thursday, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office shared a traffic update and said closures were expected throughout the rest of the day:
*UPDATE*NB and SB I-95 remains closed in the New Smyrna Beach/Edgewater area while FHP investigates several crashes in…
Posted by Volusia Sheriff's Office on Thursday, March 3, 2022
Meanwhile, FHP spokeswoman Kim Montes explained that drivers’ visibility became nearly nonexistent and some pulled over as others stopped in the road.
“Miraculously, when you look at some of these cars in the northbound lanes, there are people that survived that don’t know how that happened,” she added.
Video footage showed crews assessing the damaged semi-trucks as the fog appeared to continue blanketing the area:
In a social media post Thursday, the National Weather Service said “super fog” contributed to the wrecks, saying it caused visibility to drop:
Unfortunately, super fog contributed to the incident on I-95 in Volusia Co early this AM. With super fog, visibility is lowered to <10ft. It has caused several large pileups, namely on I-4 near Davenport (2008) & on I-75 S of Gainesville (2012). Our thoughts are with the victims. pic.twitter.com/NLHouCt1hc
— NWS Melbourne (@NWSMelbourne) March 3, 2022
“It has caused several large pileups, namely on I-4 near Davenport (2008) & on I-75 S of Gainesville (2012). Our thoughts are with the victims,” the agency’s post read.
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