Fiery crash on SR 528 so fierce authorities unable to identify victim
OCTOBER 1, 2015
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. —
A woman and her dog were killed early Thursday morning when she drove her SUV head-on into a truck on State Road 528.
The unidentified woman was eastbound in the westbound lanes of the toll road at 2:20 a.m. when she collided with the truck, according to Florida Highway Patrol troopers.
Troopers said both vehicles caught fire.
Authorities said the SUV that collided with the truck was burned so badly, there's no vehicle identification number or tag to help track down the owner. They also said the body inside is unidentifiable, though they believe it was a woman, based on the shoes the driver was wearing.
The driver of the truck, Michael Curtis, 26, of Melbourne, was able to get out of his vehicle. He suffered minor injuries.
The woman and a dog in her Infiniti both died at the scene, troopers said.
Troopers closed all the lanes of SR 528 after the accident but reopened the eastbound lanes about 4 a.m. By noon, all the westbound lanes had reopened.
Troopers said the driver of a Cadillac swerved to miss the woman and crashed into a guardrail shortly before the SUV struck the truck.
"I keep seeing the light coming straight ahead of me, and I'm blowing and blowing (the horn)," said Ebonie Davis. "My car spun and I hit the guardrail, but I'd rather that than seeing what the impact was with that truck."
Davis and her passenger suffered minor injuries.