The nine victims of a crash on Florida's Turnpike that killed a grandmother on her 94th birthday and sent three children to the hospital were all from Louisiana, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The van carrying the nine people rear-ended a fuel tanker truck "for reasons yet to be determined" at around 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, in the southbound lanes of the Turnpike near Griffin Road, Florida Highway Patrol officials said in a report released Wednesday.
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The van skid to a stop, and some people were ejected, FHP said.
Plantation Fire officials said no one in the van was wearing a seatbelt. An FHP investigator said impairment wasn't a factor in the crash.
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The victims traveling in the passenger van were:
- The driver, a 42-year-old man
- A 94-year-old woman who was killed
- A 60-year-old woman
- A 38-year-old woman
- A 30-year-old woman
- A 27-year-old man
- A 9-year-old girl
- An 8-year-old girl
- A 2-year-old boy
The driver of the tanker truck, a 45-year-old man, was not injured, FHP said.
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Seven people were taken from the scene in an ambulance, and air rescue also responded to the scene to airlift a patient to Broward General Hospital.
The 94-year-old woman was pronounced dead at the scene. She was identified by family members Wednesday as Earnestine Morris, from Baton Rouge.
Morris leaves behind 6 children and 18 grandchildren, family members said.
The survivors were in stable condition as of Tuesday afternoon, but FHP did not provide more information about their possible injuries.
Aerial footage from Chopper 6 showed a white van with severe front end damage. What appeared to be a body was covered by a yellow tarp next to the van.
The crash had all southbound lanes closed in the area on Tuesday and traffic was at a complete standstill at one point.
