Several early morning fiery car crashes involving over 15 vehicles led to multiple deaths and the closure of a major highway in Volusia County on Thursday.
NBC affiliate WESH-TV reports the crashes took place along I-95 near the city of Edgewater, with one crash in the southbound lanes involving six vehicles and four crashes in the northbound lanes involving a combined 11 vehicles.
The crashes began around 1:30 a.m. south of Daytona Beach, according to Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Kim Montes. Some of the crashes involved semi-trucks, according to the station.
FHP said a total of three people were killed in the crashes and multiple people were transported to the hospital, including one child who was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in Orlando.
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Investigators have not determined what caused the crashes. Volusia County was under a dense fog advisory Thursday morning.
“Fog and smoke were in the area at the time,” Montes told The Associated Press. The smoke was lingering from prescribed burns in the area, and the National Weather Service had warned on Twitter of very low visibility.
