At least three people died in five separate crashes early Thursday that shut down a 20-mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Florida, officials said.
The crashes occurred in Volusia County as the region dealt with dense fog and low visibility conditions.
Four of them involved 11 vehicles on the northbound side of I-95, resulting in one death, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The other crash involved six vehicles on the southbound side, resulting in two deaths, the agency said.
One child was flown to Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children and an unknown number of people were taken to area hospitals, according to the FHP. The child was stable, officials said.
FHP initially reported three separate crashes involving at least 15 vehicles, including some semitrucks, at 1:30 a.m. in the northbound and southbound lanes of I-95 near mile marker 244 in Volusia County.
Due to the crashes, I-95 was shut down from mile marker 249 to 231, FHP said.
The southbound entrance ramp from State Road 442 to southbound I-95 was reopened as of 10 a.m. Traffic on both sides of the highway are still being rerouted in the affected areas.
It’s not clear what led to the crashes but video on social media show fire and what appears to be an explosion at the scene.
FHP reported that the northbound lanes of I-95 have been damaged due to the crash and fire, and once debris is removed from the crash sites, three northbound lanes will need to be repaved.
There was “zero visibility” at the time of the crashes, FHP said to NBC affiliate WESH of Orlando, as Volusia County was under a dense fog warning through 7 a.m.
Volusia County Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood tweeted early Thursday that the crashes remain under investigation.
