Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Florida DOT screenshot shows flames on I-95 near Edgewater 1:30 a,m Thursday. A Florida Highway Patrol vehicle is barely visible from behind with dense fog and thick black smoke from an earlier controlled burn. BELOW: Carnage with fire erupting as shown with this burning sem-trailer. Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes is shown as is a chasrred semi-trailer early Fridaymorrning after I-95 is fully re-opened in both directions.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
EDGEWATER, Fla. -- Dense fog and thick black smoke from a controlled burn were major causes of a horrific series of crashes overnight Thursday on both sides of I-95 between Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach resulting in three fatalities and numerous injuries, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
I-95 northbound and southbound have both finally reopened just before 5 a.m. on this Friday morning following a nearly day-long shut down in both directions as crews worked to repair the road surfaces.
There were three fatalities and multiple people injured in five crashes involving 17 vehicles resulting from the 1:30 a.m. Thursday carnage took more than 28 hours to fully clean up and allow for traffic to flow freely again in both directions.
There was one crash southbound that involved six vehicles, and four separate crashes northbound with 11 vehicles. The crashes included semi-trucks, at least two of which caught fire and burned.
There were three fatalities at the scene of the crashes, according to FHP.
Two people died on the southbound side of I-95, and one person was killed on the northbound side. Multiple people, including children, were transported to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries. One child was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital and was reported
Among the dead, according to FHP:
• A 51-year-old Hialeah man (semi-truck driver);
• A 54-year-old man driving a 2017 Jeep Renegade;
• A 25-year-old woman passenger in a 2022 4-door Nissan.
"We came on down the road, everything was white - we couldn't see nothing," truck driver John Johnson told WESH Ch. 2's Claire Metz, adding he was driving northbound when the fog appeared. So he immediately pulled over onto the breakdown lane and put his hazard lights on.
WESH's First Warning Weather meteorologist Kellianne Klass reported there was a 'super fog' weather event at the time of the crash. And FHP added there was 'zero visibility,'. the combination of the dense fog and thick black smoke from an earlier controlled burn that contributed to the multiple wrecks.
"We do know that that's a causation of the crash this morning, but we also have to look at driver responsibility and driver error," Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes told Headline Surfer and other media outlets.
"We do know that that's a causation of the crash this morning, but we also have to look at driver responsibility and driver error," Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes told Headline Surfer and other media outlets.
"We do know that that's a causation of the crash this morning, but we also have to look at driver responsibility and driver error," Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Kim Montes told Headline Surfer and other media outlets.
Along southbound I-95, all three lanes and the inside shoulder were damaged, the result of fire and leaking fuel, the Florida Department of Transportation said, which caused delays in reopening that stretch of the interstate for emergency repairs to the road surface.
Troopers re-opened the southbound entrance ramp from SR-442 to southbound I-95 about 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Shortly thereafter, northbound I-95 traffic was being re-routed at CR-5A and re-entering northbound I-95 at SR-442. Southbound I-95 traffic was being re-routed at SR-44.
And this morning before dawn, both sides of Interstate 95 were flowing again without interruption after overnight road repairs were finished.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.