JACKSONVILLE – The Florida Highway Patrol said today that six people died two chain-reaction crashes on Interstate 95 near Jacksonville.
The crashes happened late Saturday in Flagler and St. Johns counties and closed sections of the major intestate into Sunday morning.
The Florida Times-Union reported that two people were killed in a three-vehicle crash south of Palm Coast Parkway in Flagler County around 5:30 p.m. Saturday and four people were killed in an 11-vehcile crash around 7:30 at Mile Marker 301 in St. Johns County.
Officials said a Jacksonville teenager and a St. Augustine woman died in the first crash, which involved two trucks and a car. Officials had not yet released the names of those killed in the second crash, which involved 11 vehicles.
The newspaper reported that the first crash happened when the driver of a pickup truck over-corrected after drifting toward the shoulder of the highway and struck guardrail.
The second crash happened after traffic backed up from the earlier crash and southbound traffic was being detoured around the crash. A commercial truck hit the back of stopped vehicles triggering a series of collisions and a fire that engulfed several vehicles.
The Florida Department of Transportation was set to inspect the interstate today and do emergency repairs.
