Truck Accident Lawyer News

BROWARD COUNTY, FL – Three people were killed and three more injured Thursday, December 9, in an early morning truck accident on a highway in Broward County, Florida. The multi vehicle crash happened when a semi rear-ended two passenger cars on northbound U.S. Highway 27, in the northwest Miami metro region. The accident area is in far southeast part of the state near the Atlantic coastline, about 96 miles east of Naples, FL and about 223 miles south of Orlando.

Early Thursday morning 42 year old Placid Ferdinand of Crosby, Texas was driving a Freightliner semi trailer through Broward County, FL. The truck’s cargo and destination is not known. At the time of the truck accident there was one passenger in the cab section of the 18 wheeler, identified as 47 year old Sandy Kay Ferdinand, also of Crosby, TX.

Shortly before 12:30 a.m. Thursday morning the semi truck driver was driving through the west section of Broward County, about six miles north of Interstate 75. The deadly truck accident occurred as the tractor trailer came up from behind on two passenger cars which were stopped in the northbound lanes of the highway near mile marker 40. The tractor trailer was believed to be traveling at highway speeds, somewhere between 50 and 65, when Mr. Ferdinand reportedly saw the Acura Integra and Honda Civic not moving on the highway.

The truck driver tried to avoid a collision but did not have enough time to stop or room to maneuver around the stopped vehicles. He plowed into both passenger cars and the force of the rear-end truck accident crushed the smaller vehicles. The tractor trailer would push at least one of the cars several hundred feet before finally coming to a rest on the shoulder of the highway.

Florida Highway Patrol officers and Broward County emergency personnel quickly rushed to the crash site. The Acura apparently took the biggest hit in the rear-end collision and three of the passengers received fatal injuries in the truck accident. Two died at the site, identified as 15 year old Dairon Ledesma and 19 year old Ileana E. Mira, both of Hialeah, FL. The third victim, 19 year old Anthony Perez, would die from his injuries on Friday in North Broward County Medical Center.

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The driver of the Integra, 18 year old Raymon Garcia of Virginia Gardens, was severely hurt in the crash and was airlifted to North Broward County Medical Center. The driver of the Civic, 18 year old Angel Lazo, and one of his passengers, 19 year old Matthew A. Foreman, both of Miami Springs, were also injured in the truck accident. EMTs treated and stabilized the teenagers at the crash site before they were taken in ambulances to the same hospital as the other victims.

The semi driver was not injured in the rear-end collision. His passenger, Ms. Ferdinand received minor injuries in the truck accident and was treated at the scene and released.

FHP closed down the northbound lanes of US 27 around the crash site while investigators reconstructed the incident and highway workers cleared the traffic lanes. The Integra and Civic were both heavily damaged and it is unclear whether they can be repaired. A tow truck was brought to the site to haul them off the traffic lanes. The cab section of the Freightliner was damaged in the truck accident but it appears that the tractor trailer may have been drivable.

According to FHP all occupants of the two passenger cars were wearing their seat belts at the time of the accident, as were the truck driver and his passenger. Authorities are looking into the possibility that the drivers of the Integra and Civic were involved in an illegal drag race which could explain why they were stopped in the middle of a highway. However at least one witness disputes that the cars were racing at the time of the collision and stated that the Acura was behind the Honda. The families of the teen victims claim that the Honda Civic was having mechanical problems and was pulling off the highway when the semi truck crashed into the Acura, which then crashed into the Civic.

Officials expect the investigation of the truck accident to last several weeks at which time charges may be brought against the drivers of the passenger cars or the truck driver.

For more information about Florida trucking laws, truck injury causes and victims’ rights, contact truck accident lawyers Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP for expert truck accident advice. Visit our Florida truck accident lawyer page for more information about Florida truck accidents. For a free initial consultation, talk to a truck accident attorney at 1.800.773.6770.

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