BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — A fatal crash on Interstate 95 in Florida led to the death of a roadside traffic worker and caused major travel disruptions on one of the busiest holiday travel days.
The crash occurred Monday morning, as the roadside traffic worker was responding to an earlier incident involving a car on fire in the northbound lanes of I-95 near mile marker 228 in Mims.
Troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) reported that two lanes of the highway reopened just after 3 p.m. but the crash caused-hour long back-ups and diverted cars at State Road 46.
FHP stated that the roadside worker’s Maintenance of Traffic Truck was parked in the outside lane, fully operational with activated lights and an arrow board when a semi-truck driver failed to slow down or move over, striking the vehicle.
The roadside worker died at the scene and a 42-year-old passenger in the maintenance truck was airlifted to the hospital in serious condition.
According to FHP, the roadside worker drove a CMTI truck.
Per CMTI’s website, the company contracts with Florida Department Of Transportation and maintains incident response teams who provide maintenance of traffic for accidents and control the flow of vehicles to support first responders.
As troopers investigated the crash, some travelers told Channel 9 they were stuck in several hours of traffic.
It comes in the middle of this year’s holiday travel season during which approximately 6.7 million Floridians are expected to take to the roads, according to AAA.
Art Johnson, a traveler, expressed frustration at the situation, stating, “He should have moved over.”
Johnson emphasized the importance of adhering to the law designed to protect roadside workers, emergency responders, and everyday residents.
“I obey the laws and that is one of the laws… I’m sorry to hear that about that man," Johnson added.
According to data from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, there have been 167 crashes this year due to drivers failing to move over for roadside vehicles.
The law mandates that drivers must create a safe distance by moving over for any disabled vehicles on the side of the road, including law enforcement, first responders, and maintenance trucks.
If unable to move over, drivers are required to slow down to 20 miles per hour under the posted speed limit, with violations leading to fines, fees and points on their driving records.
As of now, FHP has not released the identities of those involved in the fatal crash. It remains unclear whether the semi-truck driver will face any charges following this incident.
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