Four people, including a 7-year-old boy, were killed in a chain-reaction crash that involved five vehicles on Monday on Interstate 95 in Indian River County, Florida.
The pile up happened at around 2:15 a.m. at mile marker 153 near Fellsmere, which is about 20 miles from Vero Beach.
A 2009 Toyota Camry driven by a 37-year-old Miami woman first rear-ended a 2001 Suzuki Vitara, driven by a 40-year-old Miami man, in the northbound lanes, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A Dodge Journey, which was driven by a 40-year-old woman and had a man and four children under the age of 10 inside, then slammed into the Vitara.
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The other drivers got out to help the people in the Dodge, but while they were on the road, a Freightliner semi truck driven by a 63-year-old Miami man approached.
The driver of the semi “due to the lighting, was not able to see what was going on and struck the left side of the Dodge Journey,” FHP Trooper Raeford Griffin told NBC affiliate WPTV.
One person in the Dodge was thrown from the vehicle, FHP said.
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The truck also struck and killed the drivers of the Vitara and Camry, according to authorities.
The last vehicle to crash was a Chrysler Pacifica, which swerved but still rammed into the Camry.
FHP said that a 27-year-old man and 25-year-old woman from Ontario, Canada, were inside the Pacifica and had to be taken to the hospital.
Two people that were inside the Dodge, the driver and a 7-year-old boy, were killed in the crashes, according to authorities.
The other occupants of the Dodge survived and were taken to the hospital, FHP said. They are a 42-year-old man, a 9-year-old girl, a 5-year-old boy and a 2-month-old baby boy. The 9-year-old is in stable condition, but the other conditions are not known.
Northbound lanes of I-95 were closed for hours in the area and reopened by about 2 p.m.
