A three-vehicle collision on a central Florida highway Wednesday morning resulted in a death and 16 injuries, authorities said.
The crash occurred about 6:15 a.m. on State Route 60 in Osceola County, according to Osceola County Fire Rescue and EMS and a fire department spokesperson.
“The crash involved a semi, transit bus, and pickup truck. More than a dozen victims are involved, and the response will likely close SR 60 for several hours,” county fire officials said in a statement on Facebook.
In total, 16 people, 14 of whom had injuries that were not considered life-threatening, were transported to hospitals in several counties, officials said.
Two people with critical injuries were airlifted in helicopters for medical treatment, officials said.
One person died at the scene, Osceola County Fire spokesperson Andrew Sullivan said. The victim’s identity was not released.
Sullivan said most of the people who were injured were on the transit bus. Sullivan was unsure of the status of any traffic delays about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Sullivan said the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.
The highway patrol said the crash involved a 2017 Dodge Ram, a 2007 Mitsubishi box truck and a motor coach.
The highway patrol said the person who died was a 52-year-old male passenger in the Dodge Ram. He was from Port St. Lucie.
The collision occurred as the pickup was headed westbound and the box truck was headed eastbound, the highway patrol said.
A witness told investigators the pickup tried to pass another vehicle and drove onto the eastbound lane in a direct path toward the box truck. When the pickup and the box truck swerved, the Ram struck the box truck, which was directly in front of a motor coach that could not avoid the collision, the highway patrol said.
The highway patrol said it was "foggy and dark."
There were 23 inmates with the Florida Corrections Department aboard the motor coach, the highway patrol said. They were traveling to a work-release program in Okeechobee.