Two Injured After SUV Drives Off I-4 Overpass in Orlando
Motorists traveling through a certain area of downtown Orlando on Monday, February 22nd, found themselves being redirected and rerouted after an unusual and frightening auto accident involving an SUV and an overpass. According to reports from the Orlando Police Department, it was close to 6:00 in the morning when a white SUV was traveling along the eastern lanes of Interstate 4. This highway, a major thoroughfare in the area, passes over Kaley Street via an overpass. It was while traveling over this intersection that something happened within the cab of the SUV to cause the driver to lose control.
Surveillance video taken from a nearby gas station shows the moments just after the SUV crashes into the concrete barrier along the side of the overpass. In the video, we watch as the SUV falls several stories from the highway onto Kaley Street, striking a traffic light on its way and landing nearly in the middle of an intersection.
Emergency response crews were called to the site almost immediately after the crash took place, with 9-1-1 calls being placed by numerous motorists who witnessed the event. When the paramedics, EMTs and other emergency response crews arrived, they found the car as described, as well as two individuals, both of whom were alive but injured. A witness to the scene told the authorities that when the SUV, believed to be a Jeep, hit the guardrail, it was clear that it was going to crash over the barrier and onto the street below. This witness also indicated that the driver of the vehicle was ejected at the time, preventing them from being within the car when it landed on the ground.
The two individuals in the SUV at the time of the crash were transported from the area to a nearby hospital. One of them was believed to be in critical condition, and when they were admitted to the hospital they were tagged as a trauma alert. The second victim suffered less severe injuries and it is believed they were stabilized shortly after arriving at the emergency medical center.
An investigation into the crash remains ongoing.
Sources:
James O. Cunningham
Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.