Six killed in fiery Florida's Turnpike crash after SUV strikes Road Ranger truck in Orange County

Six people were killed Friday night when an SUV slammed into a Road Ranger truck on Florida's Turnpike in Orange County, setting both vehicles on fire and trapping everyone inside the SUV, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The crash happened at about 9:31 p.m. Oct. 23 in the northbound lanes near mile marker 252, an area WKMG-TV placed near Weatherby Road in south Orange County.

The driver of the SUV, a 2023 Chevrolet Traverse, and five adult passengers were pronounced dead at the scene. As of Saturday, troopers had not released their names or ages. The 28-year-old Road Ranger driver from Kissimmee survived. The crash remains under investigation, and FHP has not announced any charges or a final determination of what caused it.

The crash came the same night as a separate fatal four-vehicle crash on State Road 429 in west Orange County.

What troopers say happened

According to the Florida Highway Patrol's preliminary account, as reported by FOX 35 Orlando and WFTV, the Road Ranger truck had been parked in the turnpike's median with its emergency lights on while its driver helped at an earlier incident. The driver was then sent to assist a disabled box truck stopped on the outside shoulder, on the opposite side of the northbound travel lanes, and began moving the truck across the roadway toward it.

At the same time, the Traverse was traveling north in the inside lane, the lane nearest the median. Troopers said the SUV's driver failed to avoid the Road Ranger truck, and the front left side of the SUV struck the right rear of the truck. Both vehicles left the roadway and caught fire.

The SUV's driver and all five passengers were trapped in the burning vehicle, FHP said. Troopers have described all six as adults.

Witnesses told troopers the Traverse was traveling at a high rate of speed without its headlights on, according to the FHP account relayed by WFTV and FOX 35. Those are witness statements, not findings; investigators have not said whether speed or lighting played a role, and the agency's traffic homicide investigators typically take weeks or months to complete a crash reconstruction.

The Road Ranger driver

The Road Ranger driver, a 28-year-old Kissimmee man, suffered minor injuries, according to FHP's account as reported by FOX 35. He was not taken to a hospital and stayed at the scene to help investigators. An earlier WKMG report described him as uninjured. Troopers have not released his name, and nothing in the agency's preliminary account suggests he faces any charge.

FHP has not said what the earlier incident was that the Road Ranger had been working when he was dispatched to the box truck, or whether anyone involved in that incident was hurt.

Victims not yet identified

The District Nine Medical Examiner's Office, which serves Orange and Osceola counties, will confirm the identities of the six people who died and notify FHP, troopers said. Because the victims were trapped in a vehicle fire, formal identification can take longer than in a typical fatal crash.

Troopers have not said where the SUV's occupants were from, whether they were related or traveling together for a particular reason, or where they were headed. The Florida Press will update this story when officials release that information.

Impact on the turnpike

The crash blocked the northbound turnpike in the area overnight as troopers worked the scene, according to WKMG's initial report. FHP did not publicly detail which lanes were closed or exactly when traffic fully reopened. The stretch near mile marker 252 is one of the turnpike's busier segments in metro Orlando, where closures can back up traffic for miles.

Who the Road Rangers are

Road Rangers are the roadside service patrols that work Florida's interstates, toll roads and construction zones. The Florida Department of Transportation launched the Road Ranger Service Patrol in 2000 to provide traffic incident management and limited no-cost highway assistance, with the stated aim of improving safety for both emergency responders and drivers, according to FDOT.

The patrols change flat tires, jump-start vehicles, make minor repairs, supply emergency fuel and water, clear disabled vehicles and debris from travel lanes, and set up traffic control around crashes, FDOT says. The program is funded by FDOT and its partners and staffed by private contractors. FDOT says the patrols have completed more than 6.1 million service assists since the program began. On Florida's Turnpike system, which is run by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, drivers can request help by dialing *347.

Road Ranger work routinely puts drivers alongside live traffic. A Road Ranger stopped on a shoulder or median with flashing lights is covered by Florida's Move Over law, and FDOT has stepped up roadside safety messaging in Central Florida in recent years after a string of crashes in which Road Rangers were struck.

Florida's Move Over law

Under Florida's Move Over law, drivers approaching a stopped emergency, service, utility or disabled vehicle on the roadside must move out of the adjacent lane when it is safe to do so. If they cannot change lanes, they must slow to 20 mph below the posted speed limit, or to 5 mph where the limit is 20 mph or less, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Since Jan. 1, 2025, the law also covers any vehicle parked on the roadside with its hazard lights flashing, emergency flares out or emergency signage displayed. Violations carry a fine, fees and points on a driver's license.

Troopers have not said whether the law is relevant to Friday's crash. In FHP's preliminary account, the Road Ranger truck had left its stopped position in the median and was moving across the travel lanes when it was hit, a different situation from a driver passing a vehicle parked on the shoulder.

Separate deadly crash on SR 429

Less than two hours later, at about 11:15 p.m. Friday, a four-vehicle crash in the southbound lanes of State Road 429 near mile marker 24, north of Plant Street in west Orange County, killed an 18-year-old Apopka man, according to FHP as reported by WFTV and the Orange Observer.

Troopers said a Jeep Cherokee struck the rear of a Hyundai Sonata, pushing it into the path of a Chevrolet Camaro, which then hit the Hyundai from behind. A Kia Sportage struck debris from the first impacts. The man who died was a passenger in the Hyundai. Six people were taken to hospitals, including two teenage girls, ages 16 and 14, who were seriously hurt; troopers described the injuries to all three Hyundai occupants as non-life-threatening, and the other injured people had minor injuries. The Kia's driver was not hurt. That crash is also under investigation.

What's next

FHP's investigation of the turnpike crash is ongoing. Troopers are expected to release the six victims' identities after the medical examiner completes identification and families are notified. The agency has not said whether the SUV's speed, its lights or the Road Ranger's movement across the lanes contributed to the crash, and no charges have been announced. Anyone who saw the crash or the moments before it can contact the Florida Highway Patrol by dialing *FHP (*347) from a cellphone.