South Florida

Victims Identified in Fiery Tractor-Trailer Crash on Sawgrass Expressway in Broward County

An elderly couple was killed in a fiery crash involving a tractor-trailer on the Sawgrass Expressway in Broward County Thursday, officials said. The victims have been identified as Niculae Sandulescu, 84, and Paraschiva Sandulescu, 79, both of Sunrise.

The crash happened around 10 a.m. in the northbound lanes of the Expressway just beyond Sunrise Boulevard.

Family of the Romanian couple are stunned, knowing their elderly relatives died in a fiery crash that shut down the Sawgrass Expressway Thursday.

A neighbor comforted one relative who was too upset to speak.

"How could you lose someone in a fiery crash, that's awful, oh god," the neighbor named Jenny said. "They're great people."

Investigators said it appeared the 18-wheeler hit the back of a Mitsubishi Mirage which was traveling at a slow speed on the highway.

The impact caused the truck to flip onto the car, slide into the guardrail and the car burst into flames.

"There was a portion of a load that was on top of the car. And they were still trying to put out the fire," FHP spokesman Sgt. Mark Wysocky said. "So, once they were able to look inside the car and determine that there were two people, at least as of right now."

The driver of the tractor-trailer, Nelson Castro, 50, of Hialeah Gardens, was transported to a nearby hospital with serious injuries, officials said.

All lanes headed both northbound and southbound were closed. They later re-opened around 3:30 p.m.

The cause of the crash is being investigated.

Contact Us