FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Three adults were hospitalized early Wednesday following a crash involving two vehicles and a fire rescue truck that shut down a portion of a major Fort Lauderdale roadway during the morning commute.
The crash occurred just before 4:15 a.m. at West Broward Boulevard and Northwest Seventh Avenue, according to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue.
Authorities said at least two vehicles were involved in the initial collision.
FLFR officials said three adults were transported to the trauma center at Broward Health Medical Center. Their identities, ages and genders have not been released.
Witnesses reported that a black Audi T-boned a white car, causing it to spin out of control before striking a FLFR truck that was attempting to turn left onto Seventh Avenue.
Authorities said the Audi driver has been cleared from the hospital, while the Audi passenger is in stable condition. The BMW driver remains in critical condition as of Wednesday afternoon.
Fire rescue officials said the truck’s three firefighters were not injured.
Fort Lauderdale police on Thursday told Local 10 that the crash is being investigated as a “possible criminal incident.”
Authorities said crews quickly used extraction tools to free at least one person trapped inside the white vehicle.
Emergency responders also administered whole blood to the BMW driver at the scene before transporting victims to the hospital, a step officials say can be critical in severe trauma cases.
“It’s a unique situation to have firefighters or a rescue truck on scene when this takes place and able to immediately begin that extrication. Normally, our response time is about six minutes, and every minute counts during a traumatic event like this,” said FLFR Chief Stephan Gollan. “There’s no doubt that the ability of the crews to immediately jump into action and render that care contributed to the lifesaving of the individual in that car.”
A Local 10 News crew at the scene observed heavy damage to both vehicles, including a white car that appeared to be severely crushed and an Audi with significant front-end damage. Debris was scattered across the roadway as investigators examined the scene.
Fort Lauderdale resident John Smith Jr. told Local 10 that the crash “sounded like an explosion” and “whoever did that needs to be locked up for life.”
Both directions of Broward Boulevard were temporarily shut down at Northwest Seventh Avenue for several hours but have since reopened. Drivers were urged to seek alternate routes during the closure.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation. Authorities have not said whether charges will be filed.
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