2 die after car veers off I-95 into lake
Witnesses say vehicle went out of control when changing lanes
Two men died after they were pulled from a car that swerved off northbound Interstate 95 and landed in a lake in Deerfield Beach, officials said Thursday.
The crash happened shortly before 12:30 p.m. just before a light drizzle turned into a deluge as a line of showers rolled across northern Broward County.
According to Broward Sheriff Fire Rescue Battalion Chief Michael Kane, arriving crews from his agency and Boca Raton Fire Rescue found the gold-colored, 4-door Honda about 10 feet under water.
Both men, believed to be in their 30s, were taken to North Broward Medical Center where they died, said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Wysocky.
“Witnesses reported it was driving erratically,” he said at the crash scene. “[They] attempted to change lanes and they lost control, veered off the roadway and into the water.”
Divers were continuing to search the water for another possible victim, Wysocky said.
“We’re still trying to determine if there was a third person in the water,” he said. “We pulled the vehicle out [but] there was nobody in the vehicle.”
With rescue vehicles and personnel taking up two right lanes and a series of fender benders in the stop-and-go heavy
traffic on the wet highway, northbound I-95 was stalled for miles.
“I heard that there were people that did stop and try to jump in the water and rescue them,” he said. “I believe somebody got them out.”
The men were “unconscious and unresponsive” when they were pulled from the car.
The identities of the victims were not immediately available. Their names would be released once their families were notified, Wysocky said.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash.