MIAMI – One man was killed and eight people, including two rescue workers, were hurt after a series of crashes early Saturday along Interstate 95 in Miami, officials said.
Ignatius Carroll, a spokesman for the Miami Fire-Rescue Department, said the two rescue workers were trying to pull a man from the wreck of earlier hit-and-run crash near the 62nd Street exit when a Toyota SUV sideswiped their rescue truck and struck them around 3 a.m.
Others rescue workers on scene came to the aid of their co-workers, Carroll said.
"It does affect us because they’re not just coworkers. We’re family. We’ve worked together. So to actually work on one of our own, esp. witnessing an incident happening with them is very traumatic," Carroll said.
Another vehicle struck the Nissan SUV around 2 a.m., but the driver did not stop to help, Carroll said.
One of the passengers inside the Toyota was pronounced dead at the scene.
Between the two crashes a total of eight people were hurt, Carroll said. Six people -- four occupants from the Toyota and the two firefighters -- were taken to Ryder Trauma Center. Two people who were inside the Nissan were taken to University of Miami Hospital.
The two Miami Fire-Rescue crew members are listed in stable condition. The conditions of the other's victims were not disclosed.
Northbound lanes of I-95 near 62nd Street were closed for several hours while the Florida Highway Patrol investigated. The lanes have since reopened.
