South Florida

Dozens of Bodies Found Buried Beside I-95 in Sunrise

Concerned citizens are speaking out after dozens of bodies were discovered buried near the edge and possibly underneath one of South Florida's busiest highways.

Recent expansion plans near I-95 at Sunrise Boulevard led to the discovery of at least 65 bodies. The area was once part of Woodlawn Cemetery. The cemetery is so close to the interstate that it could be mistaken for a field along the highway.

The final resting place was established back in the 1920's, a time when whites and blacks were not permitted to be buried in the same cemeteries in South Florida and across much of the U.S.

Edna Elijah tells NBC 6 South Florida that several of her relatives were buried at Woodlawn. She's unsure of their exact location, as many of the plots are unmarked and there are few records of who was buried there.

The state purchased the land decades ago as the Florida Department of Transportation began to build I-95.

As officials began to survey the area in preparation for expansion plans to the highway, the disturbing discovery was made. They say it's possible that some of the unmarked graves were paved over when the highway was originally built and later widened.

"We're determined there are possibly 80 individual sites in that area, 65 are most definitely - or at least to us they appear because of the shape," said Barbara Kelleher of FDOT. "There are another 15 that are possible, but we're just not sure."

The mystery offers little comfort to Elijah.

"I just think about, is somebody running over my aunts? Is somebody running over somebody else's loved ones?" she says.

It will be up to the state to figure out what to do with the land.

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