Driver Charged In Deadly Alligator Alley Crash
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WESTON (CBSMiami) - One person was killed, more than a dozen others injured, in a crash on Alligator Alley.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a van carrying 15 people, who were on their way back to Ft. Lauderdale after catching a spring training game in Ft. Myers, was rear-ended by a truck.
"There was a van with 15 people onboard was traveling eastbound on I-75 in the left lane. We have a black pick up truck traveling behind it, the pickup truck hit the van from the rear, caused the driver to lose control," said FHP Lt. Alvaro Feola.
The van flipped and ended up on the other side of the highway, the pick up crashed into the median.
One person in the van was killed. The injured from the van were taken to area hospitals. Three were rushed as trauma alerts to Broward Health Medical Center. The FHP said most of the people in the van were between 10 and 18 years old.
The driver of the truck was also taken to the hospital for injuries. He's been identified as 30-year-old Nisbany Surit Garcias of Ft. Myers. She's been charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter and multiple counts of DUI with serious bodily injury to another person.
Investigators are now trying to determine why the truck struck the van.
"We're looking to see if there were calls made on this vehicle to see if he was aggressively driving. We're going to look into it," said Feola.
It's not known at this time if the driver of the truck will faces charges.