Photos for Headline Surfer / TOP: Boyd Allen Cosner, 58, of Orange City and a probation officer with Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice, critically injured after cops said he was responsible for a five-vehicle crash on the South Causeway Bridge in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, on March 31, 2025, is shown above in his mugshot from his bed at Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach. LEFT: Cosne is shown from two pics on his Facebook page before the crash. BELOW: Another shot of one of the vehicles totaled in the multi-vehicle crash.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. -- The motorist who law enforcement officials said caused a multi-vehicle crash 11 days ago on the South Causeway is recovering from his injuries at Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach.
That critically injured driver is 58-year-old Boyd Allen Cosner of Orange City and a probation officer with Florida’s Department of Juvenile Justice.
The Volusia Sheriff's Office charged Cosner of Orange City with felony Fleeing/Attempting to Elude, and the New Smyrna Beach Police Department charged him with the following traffic citations in the March 31 crash on the South Causeway:
• Reckless driving, a first-degree misdemeanor;
• Improper passing, not specified;
• Driver not seatbelted (driver cited).
Another person injured in the crash was also transported to the hospital, but she has since been discharged.
"The crash was thoroughly investigated as a precaution in case either involved party did not survive," New Smyrna Beach said in a press release statement, adding, "We greatly appreciate the public's patience during the road closure."
Here is a summary of what happened on March 31 on the large arching bridge that connects the beachside to the mainland in New Smyrna Beach near the city of Edgewater: Central Dispatch received a report at 1 p.m. of a reckless driver in the 7300 block of Turtlemound Road. A Volusia Sheriff's Office deputy tried to stop a car whose driver reportedly drove recklessly in New Smyrna Beach when the motorist sped over the Westbound Causeway bridge Monday afternoon and collected four other cars when he lost control of his car, cops said.
The VSO deputy located the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop near the 3rd and South Peninsula avenues. That's when the motorist fled and accelerated at a high speed toward the South Causeway bridge. The deputy deactivated his emergency lights and lost visual contact with the vehicle as it was crossing over the west side of the high-arching bridge. Shortly thereafter, the fleeing vehicle crashed on the bridge near Magnolia Street. Police said five vehicles were involved in the crash.
Here is a summary of what happened on March 31 on the large arching bridge that connects the beachside to the mainland in New Smyrna Beach near the city of Edgewater: Central Dispatch received a report at 1 p.m. of a reckless driver in the 7300 block of Turtlemound Road. A Volusia Sheriff's Office deputy tried to stop a car whose driver reportedly drove recklessly in New Smyrna Beach when the motorist sped over the Westbound Causeway bridge Monday afternoon and collected four other cars when he lost control of his car, cops said.
The VSO deputy located the vehicle and attempted to initiate a traffic stop near the 3rd and South Peninsula avenues. That's when the motorist fled and accelerated at a high speed toward the South Causeway bridge. The deputy deactivated his emergency lights and lost visual contact with the vehicle as it was crossing over the west side of the high-arching bridge. Shortly thereafter, the fleeing vehicle crashed on the bridge near Magnolia Street. Police said five vehicles were involved in the crash.
The bridge was reopened to traffic in both directions at 5:30 p.m. after NSBPD completed its on-scene crash investigation.
Cosner said to be in that fleeing vehicle and responsible for the crash, was later arrested in the hospital, where he remained in police custody for two days before posting a $5,000 cash bond. He will be arraigned at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, at the Justice Center in Daytona Beach.
About the Headline Surfer Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is an award-winning journalist who launched Headline Surfer in 2008, which serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando via