VERO BEACH — A woman is in critical condition and a man was hurt after a truck they were in crashed into a utility pole, snapping it, early Wednesday, fire rescue crews said.
“They hit the pole at a pretty high speed,” Indian River County Fire Rescue Captain Wayne Howard said. The names, ages and identities of the man and woman were not released.
The Vero Beach police traffic homicide unit was investigating the circumstances surrounding the crash. Police Lt. John Pedersen clarified that the traffic homicide unit also investigates non-fatal serious crashes, in addition to fatal wrecks.
Police briefly closed the roadway in the area of the crash.
The man and woman were traveling about 10 a.m. Wednesday in a grey Toyota pickup. The vehicle was in the 2400 block of northbound De Soto Avenue when it crashed into a utility pole, destroying it beyond repair, Howard said.
“The vehicle lost control and left the roadway,” Pedersen said.
The impact flipped the vehicle on its side, Howard said. First responders pulled the man and woman out of the heavily damaged truck.
It was unclear who was driving. The woman, who was unconscious, was taken by ambulance to Cleveland Clinic Indian River Hospital with critical injuries, Howard said.
The man was also taken to the hospital with nonlife-threatening injuries. Crews were expected to replace the utility pole.
The crash remains under investigation.