Orlando, FL : Two Florida State University students killed in a chain-reaction crash in Lake County on Sunday, March 19, 2017

Two Florida State University students were killed in a chain-reaction crash Sunday on Florida’s Turnpike in Lake County that also injured more than a dozen other travelers.

Valentina Martinez, 20, and Antonio Mesa, 18, of Weston were killed when a Dodge pickup failed to stop and slammed into the back of their vehicle, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report released Monday. Mesa was pronounced dead at the scene, and Martinez was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where she died, troopers said.

The vehicles were heading north when traffic slowed, and the pickup failed to stop and smashed into the back of the 2013 Hyundai Sonata carrying Mesa, Martinez and two others, the report said. Facebook pages showed the four were students at FSU, where classes were scheduled to resume Monday after spring break. That collision created a domino effect of crashes that included five more vehicles.

A video posted on Facebook by a motorist whose vehicle was rolling slowly in the southbound lanes past the crash showed the Sonata sandwiched between the pickup and an SUV. It also showed paramedics, firefighters and deputy sheriffs attending to injured and dazed motorists, some sitting on the grass in the median.

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen anything that bad,” said Barry Deemer, 52, of Winter Garden, who posted the video. He was returning home from the Gatornationals, a drag-racing event in Gainesville.

Kyle Artman, 25, of Ocala, who also was southbound heading to see a movie in Orlando, saw people who had gotten out of their cars and were taking pictures of the scene.

“There were some people laying on the side of the road with blankets on them,” Artman said.

The driver of the Sonata, Maria Cardenas, 19, and another passenger, Aztli Jiminez, 18, were seriously injured in the crash, according to the FHP report.

The accident occurred about 5:45 p.m. in the northbound lanes near mile marker 290, which is south of Leesburg and north of Groveland in Lake County.

The pileup forced troopers to close northbound lanes for several hours. Rescue workers treated 17 people at the crash scene. Late Sunday, FHP Trooper Steve Montiero called it “one of the worst ones we’ve seen this year — if not longer.”

Others involved in the crash had minor injuries and were driven either to ORMC or Leesburg Regional Medical Center.

The FHP initially put the death toll at four. In the accident’s aftermath, troopers said it was initially difficult to get a clear number on the victims.

Source :
Troopers revise death toll in turnpike crash from four to two