PALM BAY, Fla. — Two people and a dog were killed and at least four others injured in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 95 late Wednesday night. The crash happened around 9:50pm in Brevard County.
AT THE SCENE: Pics Of Scorched, Crashed Cars
Eyewitnesses said the road construction may have been to blame. They told WFTV there was no warning that the ramp at Malabar Road was closed. ( see map ) However, the Florida Department of Transpiration is disputing that claim. The state said there was enough warning about the closed exit. FDOT's contractor said it used these three mobile, electronic signs leading up to the exit on Malabar Road.
Officials said a pickup truck slowed down and it set in motion the chain-reaction crash. The driver, 35-year-old Filbert Delva, didn't realize the off-ramp was closed, officers said. A Saturn behind the truck slowed down and a third car, an Infinity, slowed down as well.
Troopers said the driver of a tractor-trailer, 38-year-old Eduardo Avila, couldn't slow down quickly enough. FHP told WFTV it has determined the semi-truck driver did not touch the brakes until after he hit the first car. It crushed the the Infinity, which hit the Saturn with Sandra Keen, 72, and Phillip Keen, 74, inside. The tractor-trailer kept going and smashed into the Ford pickup truck. Troopers said Avila may not have been paying attention.
Delva said he slowed down before he realized the exit ramp to Malabar Road was closed, and that's when the semi-hit the Infiniti, slammed into another car and then hit Delva.
An off-duty trooper told him his truck was on fire.
"When the truck got on fire, I heard a voice and the officer calling me, 'Get out of the car!' Because the car get on fire," he described.
"Did he save your life?" WFTV reporter Eric Rasmussen asked.
"Yeah, he saved my life. God bless him," Delva said.
The Infinity was rear-ended and dragged 760 feet beneath the tractor-trailer. The occupants of that car, Todd Olthoff, 48, and Marcy Olthoff, 48, died, according to officials. Their dog also died.
Co-workers came back to the scene of the crash when they heard the news.
"His last words to me were 'I'll see you tomorrow morning' and that was it. Last time I saw him," a co-worker said.
Four people from the other vehicles and possibly a construction worker who was struck while trying to get out of the way had to be rushed to the hospital.
Other drivers pulled up to see the devastation.
"On Palm Bay Road there was no warning saying the ramp was going to be closed. Normally it has a warning, so all of a sudden we were driving and we saw this car smoking," said an eyewitness.
Both Sandra and Phillip Keen were transported to a hospital in critical condition, according to FHP officials. Delva and Avila suffered minor injuries.
FHP said it was able to take blood from Avila to check for drugs or alcohol.
No word yet if anyone will be cited in the crash.