A multivehicle crash on Florida's Turnpike near Delray Beach during the Thursday morning rush hour sent eight people to hospitals, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue reports.
The agency said six vehicles were involved in simultaneous crashes that occurred at about 8:30 a.m. in the southbound lanes near the West Atlantic Avenue exit and blocked traffic until about 1 p.m.
The vehicles and the debris from the crashes combined to cover about 300 yards of roadway, an area the size of three football fields, Fire Rescue said in its prepared statement.
The Florida Highway Patrol will investigate the crashes, the agency said.
Fire Rescue did not identify any of the people who sustained injuries or say what caused the wrecks. Its report also did not estimate how
fast the vehicles were traveling at the time of the crashes. The speed limit along the turnpike is 65 to 70 mph.
Some of the vehicles had significant damage and two required heavy extrication to remove their occupants without further injury, Fire Rescue said.
In total, paramedics took eight people to hospitals for treatment of serious injuries, including two who were classified as trauma alerts.
Other people involved in the crashes declined medical transport, according to Fire Rescue.
Julius Whigham II covers northern Palm Beach County and public safety for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at jwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @JuliusWhigham. Help support our work: Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: 8 taken to hospital as 6-car crash shuts down turnpike near Delray
