GAINESVILLE, Fla. (AP) The body of an eleventh person has been found in a pickup truck days after a deadly pileup on Interstate 75, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The Alachua County Medical Examiner's Office determined Tuesday that a third victim was inside a Dodge pickup truck that crashed into a tractor trailer as it traveled south early Sunday, authorities said. The driver and another passenger in that vehicle had not been identified early Wednesday.
The Highway Patrol on Tuesday also released the name of an eighth person killed in the crash. Vontavia Kiara Robinson, 22, of Williston, was the driver of a Pontiac Grand Prix that was involved in the southbound crash around 4 a.m. Sunday.
The name of a passenger in Robinson's car has not been released.
Authorities closed the busy six-lane highway just after midnight Sunday because a mix of fog and smoke from a nearby brush fire made visibility difficult. A sergeant and lieutenant determined about three hours later that conditions had improved and the interstate was reopened to traffic.
The first pileup occurred a short time later. At least a dozen cars, six tractor trailers and a motorhome collided. Some cars were crushed under the bellies of big rigs. Others burst into flames, making it difficult to identify victims.
The crash sent another 18 people to the hospital.
The dead included Georgia pastor Jose Carmo, his wife Adriana and their teenage daughter Leticia. Another daughter remains in the hospital with serious injuries. Carmo's brother and the brother's girlfriend died in the wreck, as well.
Tuesday
May 7th, 2024
1:55AM
