VERO BEACH — Authorities expect to return to the site of a traffic crash that left a 72-year-old Vero Beach woman with fatal injuries.
Doctors pronounced the woman – identified as Dottie Durham – dead about noon Saturday at the hospital, Vero Beach police spokesman Master Officer Darrell Rivers said. On Friday, Durham, of the 3400 block of 1st Street Southwest, was flown to Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute in Fort Pierce, where she underwent emergency surgery, Rivers said.
Tuesday, police will close southbound Indian River Boulevard from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. to reconstruct the wreck and investigate. The road will be closed from 20th Street to 17th Street.
The northbound lanes will remain open, police said. Officers advised motorists to avoid the area.
The wreck – involving a silver Dodge Ram and a grey Scion – happened about 9 a.m. Friday on Indian River Boulevard near 18th Street, police said. Rivers said the Dodge, driven by 50-year-old Michael Zabitosky, of Vero Beach, was traveling south on Indian River Boulevard when a northbound Scion, driven by Durham, tried to turn west onto 18th Street.
Rivers said the Scion drove into the path of the Dodge truck, causing a collision. A passenger in the truck, 19-year-old Hector Gonzalez, of Vero Beach, was driven to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital with head injuries, Rivers said.
Gonzalez was treated and released Friday. Zabitosky was not hurt, Rivers said.
There were no passengers in the Scion, Rivers sad.
The road was shut down for about two hours while traffic was diverted onto 18th Street, officers said. The crash remains under investigation.
Photos provided by Vero Beach Police Department
