A pair of crashes stopped motorists from entering the Florida Keys via the 18-Mile Stretch and Card Sound Road on March 22.
First responders were first called to the Stretch at MM 115 around 8:20 a.m. for a crash involving a sanitation truck and a van. According to Florida Highway Patrol, a 33-year-old Miami man behind the truck’s wheel was traveling south on U.S. 1 behind a van, operated by a 69-year-old Miami man. FHP said the truck lost control and struck the van. The truck overturned, blocking all southbound lanes for roughly three hours. No injuries were reported. Traffic was rerouted to Card Sound Road.
Roughly two hours later, troopers and deputies were alerted to a crash involving a heavy duty truck pulling a trailer and a sport utility vehicle on Card Sound Road. According to troopers, a vehicle traveling in front of the truck stopped for traffic. The driver of the truck, a 39-old Homestead man, lost control and struck the SUV. The accident blocked both lanes of Card Sound Road for two hours as troopers investigated the crash. A 60-year-old Sunrise man operating the SUV suffered minor injuries.
The road closures overlapped one another by about an hour, resulting in no vehicles being able to enter the Keys.
