A tragic wrong-way collision late Saturday night on Florida’s Turnpike near the Indian River and St. Lucie County line claimed the life of a Fort Pierce woman and left six others injured, including two young children.
A wrong-way driving incident on Florida’s Turnpike near mile marker 173 resulted in a catastrophic three-vehicle pileup, leaving a 26-year-old driver dead and a toddler fighting for his life.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the severe crash occurred at approximately 10:00 p.m. near mile marker 173, located just along the local county border. The magnitude of the wreckage forced authorities to shut down the turnpike for approximately eight hours, with lanes finally reopening to local commuters around 6:15 a.m. on Sunday morning.
Troopers report that the incident began when a 26-year-old woman from Fort Pierce was driving a 2025 white Kia sedan the wrong way, traveling southbound within the inside northbound lane. As the vehicle approached the 173-mile marker, the front left corner of the Kia collided heavily with the front left corner of a 2023 black Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which was navigating north in the proper lane.
The intense initial impact pushed the wrong-way Kia into the center grass median where it came to a final stop. Simultaneously, the Chrysler minivan was violently propelled into the outside lane where it rotated and struck a 2017 grey GMC Canyon pickup truck.
Local fire rescue crews responded swiftly to the chaotic scene. The devastating nature of the chain-reaction crash resulted in multiple casualties and varying degrees of injuries across the three vehicles:
- The Kia Sedan: The 26-year-old female driver from Fort Pierce was tragically pronounced dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel. A 3-year-old boy traveling as a passenger sustained life-threatening injuries, while a 5-year-old boy suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Both children are residents of Fort Pierce.
- The Chrysler Pacifica: The 22-year-old male driver from Margate sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Three female passengers from Royal Palm Beach—ages 24, 50, and 74—also suffered non-life-threatening injuries during the collision.
- The GMC Canyon: The 48-year-old male driver and a 23-year-old male passenger managed to escape the wreck uninjured. A 46-year-old female passenger sustained minor injuries. All three occupants of the truck are from Mount Dora.
Several of the injured victims, including the driver and the passengers of the Chrysler minivan, were transported to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce for immediate emergency medical treatment.
The Florida Highway Patrol is currently conducting a comprehensive investigation into the deadly collision. Authorities are working diligently to determine exactly how and why the deceased driver entered the northbound lanes traveling in the wrong direction.
