INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 26-year-old Fort Pierce woman was killed, and six others seriously injured – including a toddler – after a wrong-way car crashed into a minivan, causing a chain-reaction collision on Florida’s Turnpike late Saturday. The three-vehicle wreck shutdown the turnpike for about eight hours, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash involved a 2025 white Kia sedan, a 2023 black Chrysler Pacifica and a 2017 grey GMC Canyon. The wreck happened about 10 p.m. Saturday near mile marker 173 not far from the Indian River County – St. Lucie County border line.
Troopers said the Fort Pierce woman was driving the Kia the wrong way on the highway, traveling southbound in the inside northbound lane.
The driver of the Chrysler minivan, a 22-year-old Margate man, was traveling north in the inside lane. Troopers said the driver of the GMC pickup truck, a 48-year-old Mount Dora man, was headed north in the outside lane.
As the vehicles approached mile marker 173, the front left corner of the Kia struck the front left corner of the Chrysler. The impact pushed the Kia into the center grass median, where it came to a stop.
The impact also propelled the Chrysler into the outside lane, where it rotated and struck the GMC, according to troopers.
Local fire rescue crews pronounced the Fort Pierce woman dead at the scene, troopers said.
A 3-year-old boy who was a passenger in the Kia had life-threatening injuries, while a 5-year-old boy who was also passenger had non-life threatening injuries, troopers said. Both boys are from Fort Pierce.
The driver of the Chrysler had non-life threatening injuries, according to troopers.
A 24-year-old woman, a 50-year-old woman and a 74-year-old woman who were passengers in the Chrysler also had non-life threatening injuries. The women are from Royal Palm Beach.
The driver of the GMC pickup was not injured. A 23-year-old man who was a passenger was also not injured, while a 46-year-old woman who was also a passenger had minor injuries. Both passengers are from Mount Dora.
Troopers said several passengers, along with the driver of the Chrysler, were taken to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce.
The turnpike reopened about 6:15 a.m. Sunday, troopers said. The deadly crash – including how the woman ended up in the wrong lane – remains under investigation.
