An young woman was killed in a deadly crash overnight Thursday in Davie, and police are looking at street racing as a contributing factor.
Florida Highway Patrol says 18-year-old Julie Castor was headed westbound on I-595 off of State Road 7 around midnight when witnesses said two unknown cars that were street racing cut her off.
Police say Castor lost control of her car and crossed the highway in the opposite direction, slamming into a concrete barrier wall.
She then ricocheted off the barrier wall and re-crossed the westbound lanes of I-595, striking a retaining wall.
A witness to the crash stopped and helped Castor out of her car. But while she was standing next to her mangled vehicle, tragedy struck yet again.
"When the witness went to call 911 the victim attempted to re-enter her vehicle through the drivers door and while standing got struck by another vehicle," said Sgt. Richard Glass of the Florida Highway Patrol.
The driver of that car remained on the scene after the fatal accident. The street racers were nowhere to be found.
Westbound I-595 was closed for some time early Thursday as police investigated.
News of Castor's death has left her employer at a Dairy Queen in Fort Lauderdale in disbelief.
"She was warm hearted, kind, hard worker. She was in the beginning of her life," said Castor's boss, Mitch Groden. "We found out at 6:30 early this morning. It was just a numb feeling because the loss of a child is irreplaceable. My wife and I woke up and sat there saying.. 'this can't be real.'"
FHP says they are looking for possibly a green Ford Mustang and another dark colored sports car that were racing. They ask anyone who was traveling in the area at the time of the crash to please contact authorities to assist in the investigation.
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Anyone with information can contact Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-TIPS.
