An Edgewater man was killed last night when his SUV was rear-ended by a semi-tractor trailer being driven by a Kansas truck driver. The crash occurred on Interstate 95, near State Road 44 and the New Smyrna Beach exit. The passenger in the SUV was seriously injured and was taken to Halifax Regional Hospital where the Orlando Sentinel reported she was in critical condition.
The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting that both vehicles were traveling in the outside lane of travel at the time of the crash. It is not currently known why the collision occurred. Regardless of the reason, our hearts go out to the family of the Edgewater man.
Although we do not currently know the cause of this crash, we do know that this crash reportedly occurred between 4:00AM and 4:15AM on a relatively rural stretch of I-95. It is probably safe to assume there was not a lot of traffic on I-95 at that hour, and it is unlikely that the Edgewater man was trying to make a sudden and unexpected stop on the Interstate. A reasonable explanation for this crash is inattentiveness or lack of alertness by the truck driver. It would be interesting to know how long this truck driver from Kansas had been driving at the time of the crash. It would be interesting to see the last time that this truck driver had a full night’s sleep. This information is critical to the investigation of any trucking accident. Let’s hope that the families of these most unfortunate people in the SUV get the information they need.
