- Semi-truck made illegal U-turn causing fatal crash on Florida's Turnpike in St Lucie County
- Three people died in the collision involving a semi-truck and a Chrysler Town & Country van
- The semi-truck driver is of Indian origin and has not yet been formally charged
Three people were killed on Florida's Turnpike on Saturday after a semi-truck made an illegal U-turn, causing a collision. The tragic incident also set off a tornado of racist taunts thrown at the Indian-origin driver.
The incident involved a semi-truck and trailer that jackknifed and landed on top of a black 2015 Chrysler Town & Country passenger van, across the northbound lanes in St. Lucie County, close to the 170-mile marker.
The semi-truck attempted an illegal U-turn at an "Official Use Only" bend while it was in the right lane of the northbound Turnpike, TCPalm News reported.
St Lucie Fire Rescue raced to the area to rescue people trapped in the wreckage. Despite their efforts, three people in the passenger car were declared dead at the scene.
The dead were identified as a 30-year-old man from Florida City, a 37-year-old woman from Pompano Beach, and a 54-year-old man from Miami.
According to preliminary reports, the deadly crash was caused by a semi-truck driver, a Sikh man, whose identity has not yet been revealed. Authorities have not yet filed charges, but as the inquiry progresses, the driver is expected to come under legal scrutiny.
Highway officials claimed the collision occurred around 3 pm on Monday, when the truck and minivan were heading north on the turnpike. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the semi-truck, which was towing a box trailer, was in the outer lane when it tried to do a U-turn into a section of the turnpike designated as "official use only."
According to the agency, the minivan, in the inside lane, was "unable to avoid" the semi tractor-trailer as it crossed "over all northbound travel lanes" to make the U-turn on the access road. The minivan crashed into the trailer and became jammed beneath its left side.
The flood of online hostility directed at the truck driver's Indian identity made the tragedy worse. The video of the Indian-origin semi-truck driver driving went viral on social media, making him the centre of attention, with Team Donald Trump labelling him as an "illegal immigrant."
"This individual is an illegal immigrant who was granted a commercial driver's license by the State of California - and now, three innocent people are dead. He has been arrested for vehicular homicide, and an ICE detainer has been issued," an X user wrote.
According to St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office's Facebook post, the crash completely halted traffic, and all northbound lanes of the Turnpike were shut down for hours while rescuers removed the wrecked vehicles and authorities performed the investigation. Drivers were advised to take other routes and to stay away from the vicinity, where they might expect significant delays.
