A 38-year-old Palm Coast woman and a 2-year-old girl traveling with her died in a three-vehicle crash on I-95 Monday afternoon, a mile south of the intersection with U.S. 1.
Three other people involved suffered serious or minor, but non-life-threatening, injuries. The crash took place in the northbound lanes at 3:42 p.m, involving a a 2023 Toyota Corolla, 2013 Ford Fiesta, and a 2022 Ford Ranger.
The 38-year-old woman, the 2 year old (who was in a child restraint seat), and a 20-year-old woman who was seriously injured were aboard the Fiesta, with the 38 year old at the wheel.
According to an ongoing Florida Highway Patrol investigation, all three vehicles were traveling north in close proximity, the Fiesta in inside lane, the Corolla in the center lane and the Ranger in the center lane behind the Corolla. Just before mile marker 272, the 38-year-old woman lost control of the Fiesta. She ran off the road onto the inside shoulder. She overcorrected to the right, causing the car to spin and first collide with the Corolla. That sent the Corolla into the center median, crashing against the guard rail.
The Fiesta continued spinning toward the outside lane, crashing into the Ranger: The front of the Ranger collided with the left side of th Fiesta. The 38-year-old woman was pronounced deceased at the scene. The 20-year-old passenger, who was riding in the front seat, was taken to Halifax hospital in Daytona Beach. The child was taken to AdventHealth Daytona Beach, where she was pronounced deceased.
The 33-year-old woman driving the Corolla, from Kissimmee, was taken to AdventHealth Daytona Beach, and the 59-year-old Palm Coast man driving the Ranger was taken to AdventHealth Palm Coast, both with minor injuries. They had no passengers. All occupants of all three vehicles, FHP noted in its crash report, were wearing seat belts.
The crash shut down northbound trafic on I-95 for several hours and backed up southbound traffic into Flagler County as investigators and rescuers worked the scene. The Florida Highway Patrol has not released the names of the victims.
