Driver charged in deadly Alligator Alley crash

Author: CBS Miami
Published: Updated:
Mug shot courtesy of Broward Sheriff’s Office

One person was killed, more than a dozen others injured, in a crash on Alligator Alley.

The Florida Highway Patrol said a van carrying 15 people, who were on their way back to Fort Lauderdale after catching a spring training game in Fort Myers, was rear-ended by a truck.

The driver of the truck, Nisbany Surit Garcias, 30, of Fort Myers crashed into the van from behind, causing the van to flip.

“There was a van with 15 people onboard, was traveling eastbound on I-75 in the left lane. We have a black pick up truck traveling behind it. The pickup truck hit the van from the rear, caused the driver to lose control,” said FHP Lt. Alvaro Feola.

The van flipped and ended up on the other side of the highway, the pick up truck crashed into the median.

One person in the van was killed. The injured from the van were taken to area hospitals. Three were rushed as trauma alerts to Broward Health Medical Center. The FHP said most of the people in the van were between 10 and 18 years old.

Garcias, the driver of the truck, was also taken to the hospital for injuries.

Investigators are now trying to determine why the truck struck the van.

“We’re looking to see if there were calls made on this vehicle to see if he was aggressively driving. We’re going to look into it,” Feola said.

Garcias has been charged with one count of vehicular manslaughter and multiple counts of DUI with serious bodily injury to another person.

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