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.
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.
The Hurricane season is on. Our meteorologists are ready. Sign up for the NBC 6 Weather newsletter to get the latest forecast in your inbox.
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.
Local
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.
![Earnestine Morris](https://media.nbcmiami.com/2024/10/101624-Earnestine-Morris.jpg?quality=85&strip=all&resize=218%2C123)
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.