DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. – A 2-year-old girl was killed and a 5-year-old girl was seriously injured Sunday in a car crash along Interstate 95 in northern Broward County, authorities said.
Battalion Chief Michael Kane, a spokesman for Broward Sheriff's Office Department of Fire Rescue, said two cars collided just before 11 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-95, north of Sample Road. One the vehicles also struck a barrier wall, Kane said.
Lt. Alvaro Feola, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol, said the children were not in car seats or wearing seat belts.
The crash prompted authorities to shut down several lanes of the highway for more than six hours, causing traffic delays. As of 5 p.m., the southbound lanes had reopened. Authorities had been diverting southbound traffic onto Southwest 10th Street in Deerfield Beach.
Paramedics took the children to Broward Health Medical Center in Fort Lauderdale, where the 2-year-old girl later died. The 5-year-old girl's injuries were described as life-threatening.
A man, Zachary Schott, and a woman, Raby Rashida, 34, of Deerfield Beach, were also hurt in the crash. Rashida was taken to Broward Health Medical Center, while Schott was treated at the scene. Both of their injuries were not life-threatening.
The FHP is investigating the cause of the crash.