FORT PIERCE, FLORIDA — A 66-year-old Miami man was killed Monday morning after the box truck he was driving swerved, left the travel lane, and overturned on Florida’s Turnpike in St. Lucie County near mile marker 166, coming to rest on its roof against a guardrail.
Florida Highway Patrol said the truck was traveling north in the outside lane when it partially entered the paved shoulder before re-entering the travel lanes and overturning. The truck struck the guardrail and came to rest on its roof. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:43 a.m. A 31-year-old Miami man who was also in the truck was airlifted to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce and is listed in stable condition.
Witnesses Christopher Delerme and Stacey Delgado told CBS12 they were directly behind the Enterprise moving truck when they saw it begin swerving left to right. “At first, it looked like the driver might have been trying to avoid another vehicle,” Delerme said. “It also appeared that he may have fallen asleep, but we cannot say for sure what happened.” He said the truck flipped twice before the guardrail brought it to a stop.
Delerme and Delgado immediately called 911 and approached the overturned truck. They found one unresponsive male and one conscious female inside. The woman was speaking Spanish and indicating she was in pain. They remained at the scene until emergency responders took over.
Both northbound and southbound Turnpike lanes were closed for hours before reopening. The cause of the crash remains under investigation by Florida Highway Patrol.
Interviews courtesy of local media.
📸 Image(s) used under fair use for news reporting.
