2 die in I-10 wreck, five others injured

By Kate McCardell

Published: May 21, 2008

An accident at about 8 a.m.  Wednesday morning on Interstate 10 near Chattahoochee has left two people dead and others injured.

For more than two hours after the single-vehicle crash at mile marker 162, approximately 10-miles of I-10 around exit 158 remained closed.

Several law enforcement agencies and medical personnel were at the scene. Witnesses at the scene said the bodies of the two people who died in accident were still on the highway at 9:40 a.m.

Highway patrol will not release the identities of those involved until next-of-kin have been notified.

According to Trooper Kenneth Ellis, the driver and passengers were from Arkansas and were in their 20s.

The cause of the accident is unknown at this time, but Florida Highway Patrol officers at the scene said six of the seven people in the car were ejected.

The one person who was not ejected from the vehicle managed to crawl out, an FHP officer reported.

The incident apparently began when the gray Nissan Pathfinder traveled off the roadway, according to highway patrol. The vehicle then began to overturn and six unrestrained passengers were ejected.

The five occupants who were not pronounced dead at the scene were transported to Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, according to highway patrol.

As of late afternoon Wednesday three of the occupants remained in critical condition, one serious condition and one in fair condition, according to a highway patrol report.

The accident occurred near Chattahoochee just inside Gadsden County.

Traffic was diverted to County Road 286. Some traffic closer to the scene of the crash was unable to divert immediately, keeping semi trucks and even a private prisoner transport vehicle immobile for over an hour.

The Gadsden County Sheriff;s Department, Chattahoochee Fire Department and Florida Department of Transportation assisted Florida Highway Patrol at the scene.