HIALEAH, FLA. (WSVN) - The northbound Florida Turnpike was shut down for hours at Okeechobee Road after a rollover wreck killed two people and sent three others to the hospital.
It happened just before 4 a.m., Friday, along the northbound lanes of the Turnpike Extension, between Interstate 75 and Okeechobee Road.
The highway wouldn’t reopen again until around 9:45 a.m., when the crash scene was cleared.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, an SUV lost control and hit a guardrail, causing two people to be ejected.
A total of five people were inside the SUV, including a 3-year-old boy who was one of the victims ejected from the vehicle.
The 3-year-old was airlifted to Kendall Regional Medical Center as a trauma alert. However, he has since been listed in stable condition.
Two others were also transported to Kendall Regional Medical Center and were last listed in stable condition; while two people were pronounced dead at the scene.
The two deceased victims were later identified as as 35-year-old Yamilca F. Cisnero De Vazquez and 60-year-old Maria Ines Suss.
Officials believe the rain and wet roads played a part in the cause of the crash. “It’s always tragic when you have a family that loses their life, and they’re just kind of commuting,” said FHP Lt. Alex Camacho, “so it’s definitely a tragic scene. We’ve notified the families. That’s never easy for us, but right now our main focus is to conduct a thorough investigation and to open the roadway as soon as possible.”
Traffic was diverted off the highway at Okeechobee Road until the scene was cleared more than five hours later.
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