A deadly crash claimed the lives of three people and left two others injured Friday morning on Interstate 95 after a Sebastian man fled from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), authorities said.
The incident unfolded around 8:30 a.m. on the northbound I-95 exit ramp to King Street near Cocoa, according to the FHP.
A 41-year-old man from Sebastian, driving a 2015 Mercedes with three passengers onboard, was speeding northbound on the interstate while evading troopers, officials reported. The driver, whose identity has not been released, was traveling well above the posted speed limit during the pursuit, the FHP said.
The Mercedes veered off the highway onto the exit ramp and collided with a 2005 Ford F-650 tow truck and a 2011 Ford F-750 tow truck, both of which were unoccupied and stationary on the shoulder. At the time of the crash, a 39-year-old man from Palm Bay was working beneath one of the tow trucks, connecting it to the other, according to an FHP crash report.
The impact was devastating. All three passengers in the Mercedes—two women and one man—were pronounced dead at the scene, the report stated. Their identities have not yet been disclosed pending notification of next of kin.
The driver of the Mercedes sustained critical injuries and was airlifted to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne. The Palm Bay man, caught in the wreckage while working on the tow trucks, was also airlifted to the same hospital with serious injuries, troopers said.
Details surrounding the pursuit remain scarce. The FHP has not released information about what prompted the chase or the circumstances leading up to the fatal collision. Investigators are still working to piece together the sequence of events.
The crash temporarily disrupted traffic along the busy stretch of I-95 as emergency crews responded and authorities began their investigation. The exit ramp to King Street was closed for several hours but has since reopened.
No further updates on the conditions of the injured men were available as of Friday afternoon. The FHP says the investigation is ongoing, and additional details will be released as they become available.
