INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 60-year-old Vero Beach man died Thursday morning after the SUV he was driving struck a tractor-trailer turning at the intersection of 49th Street and 66th Avenue, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened about 6:45 a.m. A 2026 Freightliner truck-tractor pulling a flatbed trailer was stopped at a stop sign on westbound 49th Street and began a left turn onto 66th Avenue, troopers said. A northbound 2006 Dodge Durango was traveling in the inside lane of 66th Avenue, which has no traffic control at the intersection.
The Freightliner entered the Durango’s path. The front of the SUV hit the left side of the trailer. Both vehicles stopped at the impact site.
The Durango driver was taken to Health First Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, where he was pronounced dead at 8:02 a.m. Next of kin had not been notified, according to the latest report from FHP.
The 59-year-old Jacksonville man driving the Freightliner was not hurt.
The traffic homicide investigation is continuing.