Two children and a teen were killed and several others suffered severe injuries after a Saturday morning crash on Interstate 95 in Nassau County.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a car and an SUV were driving south around 7 a.m. on I-95 near mile marker 381, close to the Georgia state line.
For unknown reasons, the car slowed down or stopped while driving across the bridge that separates Florida and Georgia, troopers said. The SUV was unable to avoid collision and crashed into the back of the car.
Drivers who live nearby said they see people slow down and stop on the bridge in the area all the time but they don’t know why.
“It’s horrible,” said Deborah Delly who lives in Georiga. “And living this close to the highway you hear a lot of crashes, and of course, I have grown kids that drive the highway so yeah, it’s kind of scary.”
The 24-year-old car driver, of Bayshore, New York, is in serious condition. The other passengers including a 47 and 14-year-old are in critical condition. A 10, 12, and 14-year-old riding in the car died in the crash.
The 23-year-old, of Apex, North Carolina, SUV driver suffered minor injuries.
Lanes were closed for hours as a result of the crash but have since reopened.
Felecia Simmons said she drives over the bridge all the time.
“People just stop sometimes, and I don’t know why. It’s always something happening there,” said Simmons.
Simmons said sometimes people stop to look at the “Welcome to Florida” sign.
She said she remembers a crash involving a semi-truck at this same time last year, near the same bridge where four people died and 12 others were injured. The crash occurred near the Georgia Welcome Center.
The year before that, also near mile marker 381, FHP said a man died when he stopped in the northbound lane and another car crashed into him.