A 59-year-old man from DeLand, Florida, died on Saturday morning, November 14, after he fled a Florida Highway Patrol trooper at 101 mph on Interstate 95 in Fort Pierce, veered into the grassy median and struck several large palm trees, according to the Florida Highway Patrol as reported by Treasure Coast Today and WPBF 25 News. The driver, whose name had not been released in the reports, was ejected in the driver-side impact and pronounced dead at the scene.
Source: Treasure Coast Today
The Highway Patrol said a trooper spotted the man's 2020 Volvo S60 travelling south near mile marker 141 at about 7:05 a.m. and clocked it at 101 mph. The trooper tried to pull the car over, but the driver refused to stop and continued south at high speed, weaving through traffic and using the paved shoulders, FHP said.
Source: Treasure Coast Today
Troopers attempted a PIT manoeuvre north of Okeechobee Road, but it was unsuccessful, and the driver kept speeding, according to FHP. He then veered onto the inside shoulder and into the grassy median, where the Volvo struck the palm trees. FHP said the man's next of kin has been notified.
Source: WPBF 25 News
Five miles of I-95 shut down
The crash shut down southbound I-95 for approximately five miles, forcing drivers off the interstate at Exit 129 for Okeechobee Road, Treasure Coast Today reported. The closure extended south to mile marker 124, and both entrance ramps from Okeechobee Road to I-95 South were also closed before the interstate reopened later on Saturday.
Fort Pierce sits on Florida's Treasure Coast in St. Lucie County, where I-95 is the region's main north–south route for commuters, freight and tourist traffic heading between West Palm Beach and the Space Coast. A full southbound closure on a Saturday morning pushed that traffic onto Okeechobee Road and local streets until troopers cleared the scene.
A traffic homicide investigation is under way
The Florida Highway Patrol said a traffic homicide investigation remains ongoing. That is the agency's standard investigation for a fatal crash: investigators reconstruct the vehicle's path and speed, examine the car, and document the scene before the file is completed. No other vehicles were reported to have been struck, and no other injuries were reported in the accounts published so far.
Source: Treasure Coast Today
FHP has not said why the driver fled, whether impairment is suspected, or when his name will be released. Those details normally come from the completed traffic homicide report, which can take weeks. Nothing in the published accounts suggests any other person was involved.
The corridor Punjabi truckers drive every day
I-95 through St. Lucie County is part of the East Coast freight corridor used daily by long-haul drivers, including many Punjabi truckers running between Florida produce and warehouse hubs and the Northeast. Saturday-morning traffic is lighter than a weekday peak, but a car weaving through lanes and across paved shoulders at 101 mph is a danger to every vehicle sharing the road, and the five-mile closure that followed is the kind of disruption that cascades through delivery schedules for the rest of the day.
Florida law makes fleeing a law-enforcement officer a felony, and troopers weigh the risk of a pursuit against the danger the fleeing driver already poses to the public. In this case the pursuit ended within minutes of the first stop attempt, before the driver lost control in the median north of Okeechobee Road.
What happens next
Drivers who were diverted on Saturday should have a fully reopened interstate: FHP confirmed the southbound lanes reopened after the investigation at the scene. The traffic homicide investigation continues, and the driver's identity is expected to be released through FHP once the report is filed. Awaaz Punjab will update this story when the name and any further findings are confirmed.