DAVIE, Fla. – A crash that the Florida Highway Patrol was investigating as three incidents — involved eight cars and a box truck — a man’s death and a mess that prompted troopers to close a section of the Turnpike for over eight hours on Wednesday in Broward County.
Troopers closed the Turnpike northbound from Interstate 595 to Sunrise Boulevard for hours starting at about 5 a.m., in Davie. The series of crashes in the area involved nine drivers, including one who fled and one who died, according to FHP.
A yellow plastic tarp covered the body of a 35-year-old man who was in what was left of a 2017 Toyota RAV4 when fire rescue personnel pronounced him dead, according to FHP. Detectives were searching for the hit-and-run driver of a 2013 Infiniti JX sport utility vehicle who collided with the Toyota.
FHP described running three investigations related to the scene, including the fatal case and two others that involved six vehicles with passengers. Aside from the Toyota and the Infiniti, the fatal case also involved a 45-year-old man from Lauderhill who was injured when he was driving a 2018 Freightliner M2 Cargo Truck.
THE FATAL CASE
Both the cargo truck and the Infiniti struck the Toyota, according to FHP. The hit-and-run driver of the Infiniti first “veered into the path of” the Toyota and crashed, causing the Toyota to “rotate clockwise, onto the inside paved shoulder,” and overturn several times, according to FHP.
After the Infiniti and the Toyota collided, the Infiniti rotated “counterclockwise, onto the inside paved shoulder” and “came to final rest facing a southeasterly direction, upon the inside paved shoulder,” according to FHP.
Then the driver of the cargo truck couldn’t avoid crashing into the Toyota, rotated clockwise, and overturned, while the Toyota then hit the concrete median barrier, according to FHP. Davie Fire Rescue personnel took the driver of the cargo truck to Broward Health Medical Center.
Detectives were asking anyone with information about the case to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.
Watch the morning report on the crash
Watch the morning traffic reports