Interstate northbound near Dunlawton ramp remains closed due to asphalt damage
A DOT camera shows the I-95 crash scene that awoke Port Orange residents within a mile radius from a firy crash.PORT ORANGE -- One person was killed and four were injured following a fiery crash on I-95 at 3:30 this morning involving three semis and a fourth car with a series of explosions that could be heard by residents within a 1-mile radius near the Dunlawton Avenue exit.
Interstate 95 nothbound near the Dunlawton exit remains closed because of the asphalt damage result from the intense fire.
Alternate routes include Clyde Morris Boulevard, Nova Road and U.S. 1.
"The accident caused several loud explosions that woke residents over a mile away," Volusia County spokeswoman Pat Kuehn said.
A passenger vehicle and three semis -- a U.S. Postal Service truck, a logging truck, and a double semi that was carrying methyl bromide (MeBr), an odorless, colorless gas used as a soil and structural fumigant to control pests -- were caught up in the fiery wreck.
For unknown reasons, the driver of the logger semi, John Winkler, 58, of San Mateo, lost control and overturned, spilling logs onto the roadway as a result. That in turn caused a chain reaction crash involving two other semis and a passenger car. The double semi caught fire and exploded, releasing methyl bromide into the air. The driver, 66-year-old Francis Trammel of Neptune Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Kim Montes said.
For unknown reasons, the driver of the logger semi, John Winkler, 58, of San Mateo, lost control and overturned, spilling logs onto the roadway as a result. That in turn caused a chain reaction crash involving two other semis and a passenger car. The double semi caught fire and exploded, releasing methyl bromide into the air. The driver, 66-year-old Francis Trammel of Neptune Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Sgt. Kim Montes said.
Four patients were transported to Halifax Health Medical Center, one by Sheriff's Air One and three by EVAC Ambulance. The logger driver, Winkler, suffered minor injuries and was transported to Halifax. Samuel Behar, 68, of Miami, the postal mail driver, was treated on scene for minor injuries.
The occupants of the passenger car, a 1997 Mazda, 16-year-old driver Victoria Granger, her mother, Pamela Granger, 42, and her sister, Sabrina Granger, 14, of New York, were all hospitalized with minor injuries.
Port Orange Fire Rescue was the lead agency on scene. Firefighters from Volusia County Fire Services, the Daytona Beach Fire Department and Florida Forest Service assisted.
Emergency workers who came in contact with toxic chemicals have been decontaminated. Earlier this morning, officials from Port Orange Fire Rescue advised residents east of the accident to stay indoors because of toxic smoke, but that advisory has been lifted, Kuehn said.
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