‘It’s scary’: FHP urges drivers to use caution after 2 die in separate crashes on Florida’s Turnpike

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Two people were killed in two separate crashes on Florida’s Turnpike in Orange County Monday morning.

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The Florida Highway Patrol says both crashes were completely avoidable.

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The first crash occurred just before 3:30 a.m. when a man driving a pickup truck Southbound near State Road 429 slammed into the back of a car that was stopped in the right-hand lane.

The woman who’d been driving the car that was stopped died at the scene.

FHP Lieutenant Kim Montes says they’re seeing more drivers stopping in travel lanes for car problems and crashes instead of moving off to the shoulder.

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“I think they have a false sense that people are going to see them, and that they’re going to move over and give them the room,” Montes said. “But please do not rely on other drivers.”

Emergency crews responded to the first crash and were working to clear the scene an hour and a half later when another driver  ran into the back of a road ranger truck stopped in the lane nearest the only one that was still open to traffic.

Montes says the road ranger had his lights activated and an arrow board operating at the time.

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“We don’t know yet if she dozed off and she was distracted, but she actually traveled through the cones and struck the rear of the Road ranger truck without ever breaking,” Montes said.

The woman later died at the hospital. The road ranger was treated for minor injuries.

“It’s scary,” Montes said. “Both of these crashes could have been avoided.”

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There are a plethora of public service announcements urging drivers to use caution, but Montes says there’s still a high occurrence of people failing to move over or slow down for emergency vehicles.

“It’s not just smart, it’s the law,” Montes said.

Montes says FHP has recently recorded three crashes involving drivers who did not move over while emergency crews were working an initial crash scene.

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“No matter how much you want to get down that road, it’s closed for a reason, and no law enforcement wants to stay there longer than they have to,” Montes said. “We need drivers to assist us by not going around their stopped patrol cars.”

Montes says drivers need to go back to the basics: focus on the roadway, and follow the law.

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