COCONUT CREEK, FLA. (WSVN) - A driver was killed and a police officer was taken to the hospital after they were involved in a violent crash in Coconut Creek that led to an hours-long road closures, authorities said.
According to the Broward Sheriff’s Office, the crash took place near the intersection of West Sample Road and Lyons Road, just before 4 a.m., Sunday.
The collision involved a Coconut Creek Police officer and a woman behind the wheel of a white sedan.
Coconut Creek Police and Margate Fire Rescue units responded to the scene shortly after.
The victim was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. She was later identified as Divinity Cureton.
Back at the scene, 7News cameras captured the victim’s mangled car. The front of the vehicle was completely torn apart, the front wheels were twisted up, and the windows were smashed in.
The patrol car only sustained rear damage. The officer involved was transported to a nearby hospital with minor injuries and has since been released.
The westbound lanes of Sample Road between Northwest 42nd Avenue and Lyons Road were closed for about six hours while deputies investigated. Debris coming from the median littered the roadway.
Investigators have not specified what led up to the crash, but it appears Cureton’s car somehow hit the back of the police unit.
In the daylight, cameras captured green paint that investigators used to mark the civilian vehicle’s tire tracks, which swerved into the right lane until the impact with the police SUV. Blue paint by the median marked where the white sedan came to a rest, possibly smashing into a tree.
The westbound lanes of Sample Road reopened at around 10:30 a.m.
The Broward Sheriff’s Office Traffic Homicide Unit has taken over the ongoing investigation.
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