• 22
  • February
    2012

Five young people from Miami were hospitalized after a truck accident that happened last weekend in Westchester. Authorities say that a Honda carrying five people hit an 18-wheeler last Friday morning. The accident happened around 2:30 a.m. last Friday at the intersection of Coral Way and Southwest 84th Avenue.

Truck accidents are more serious than the typical car accident because the greater size and weight of a truck makes it more likely that anyone in a passenger vehicle will suffer great personal injuries. It is not uncommon for car passengers to suffer catastrophic injuries while truckers walk away unharmed. The driver of the truck did not suffer any serious personal injuries but the people in the passenger car were hospitalized at the trauma center of Kendall Regional Hospital.

"A couple were unconscious. It was really bad," a witness said.

The 23-year-old driver of the Honda and an 18-year-old backseat passenger were in critical condition. Authorities say that the driver was street racing at the time of the crash and that no one in the car was wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident.

"She received the blunt of the impact in the chest. This complicated her heart," the driver's uncle said of his niece's injuries. "It's atrocious. When you receive a call early in the morning, you know it's not going to be good news."

Authorities say that speed was a factor in the crash but it is unclear whether the driver of the Honda lost control of her vehicle or whether the truck crossed into oncoming traffic.

The crash caused a fuel spill and authorities had to shut down Coral Way for several hours to clean up the wreckage and the fuel.

Source: NBC Miami, "5 Hospitalized in Crash Involving 18-Wheeler," Julia Bagg and Brian Hamacher, Feb. 17, 2012; Local 10 News, "5 injured in Coral Way crash," Ben Kennedy, Feb. 17, 2012