INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A Vero Beach man was killed in an early morning crash after his sports utility vehicle slammed into a semi-trailer at an intersection without traffic controls, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The name of the unidentified 60-year-old man was not released.
The two-vehicle wreck involved a 2006 Dodge Durango SUV and a 2026 Freightliner Cascadia truck-tractor pulling a 2024 Hyundai Translead semi-trailer. The driver of the truck-tractor, a 59-year-old Jacksonville man, was not hurt.
The collision happened shortly before 7 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 22 at 66th Avenue and 49th Street, west of Gifford and northwest of Vero Beach in unincorporated Indian River County.
Troopers said the truck-tractor’s driver attempted to make a left turn at a stop sign on westbound 49th Street. The Dodge’s driver was heading north on 66th Avenue and approaching the intersection at 49th Street.
The truck-tractor entered the path of the Dodge. Troopers said the front of the Dodge struck the left side of the semi-trailer at the intersection.
The Dodge’s driver was taken to Health First’s Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, where doctors pronounced him dead, troopers said.
The roadway was open as of Thursday afternoon. Troopers continue to investigate the deadly crash.
