Double fatality closes Florida's Turnpike in Palm City with drivers stuck on road

Both directions of Florida's Turnpike have been closed for several hours Monday because of a double-fatal crash in Palm City near Stuart with five deaths in the past three days in Martin County.The Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Martin County Fire Rescue and Florida Highway Patrol are working the crash at Mile Marker 132. FHP is leading the investigation.All lanes had remained closed in both directions, more than four hours after the crash at 3:14 p.m. Vehicles had been at a standstill for 17 miles between exits.For a short time, traffic in the southbound lanes began to move.At 7:30 p.m., traffic was again moving slowly northbound for drivers stuck on the highway. Southbound lanes then reopened after 8 p.m.Before 10 p.m., the northbound right lane remained blocked.Phillip Weiss, a retired New York City paramedic for 25 years, said his wife has been stuck in the traffic driving from Palm Beach Gardens to Port St. Lucie."I've never seen it to this extent," he told WPBF. "There is no movement. I know it's a double fatality but really, almost four hours to document the scene and to get one lane open. It is going to cascade into a bigger problem. People will run out of gas. People need food."Weiss said his wife finally arrives home after 8 p.m,.MCSO posted after the crash: "Expect traffic slowdowns for at least two to three hours. Avoid turnpike if possible."Northbound lanes were closed before Mile Marker 128 to before Exit 133 (Martin Downs Boulevard/SR-714).Southbound lanes were closed from before Mile Marker 134 to beyond Exit 133 (Stuart Martin Downs Boulevard/SR-714). On-ramps from Exit 116 and Exit 133 are closed. Earlier Monday, a 41-year-old man from Palm City died from a crash at Mile Marker 136. It was reported at 1:14 a.m.A 2018 Nissan Rogue SUV was northbound in the outside lane approaching a 2023 Volvo VNL truck-tractor/2012 Hyundai Translead semi-trailer. The truck driver was a 38-year-old man from Leesburg. For undetermined reasons, the front of the Nissan collided with the rear of the semi-trailer, FHP said. The driver of the Nissan was taken to Florida Coast Medical Center, where he was pronounced deceased at 1:55 a.m. No injuries were reported by the other driver.On Saturday morning, two people were killed in a head-on crash on Allapattah Road in Martin County. According to information shared by the Martin County Sheriff's Office, the crash happened around 6:30 a.m. on Allapattah Road, south of Martin Highway near the S-curve.In St. Lucie County on Monday morning, there was a crash on Interstate 95 near Becker Road that involved an SUV and a semi-truck.The SUV ended up entrapped along the median close to a tree and the driver was taken to a hospital while intubated, FHP told WPBF. Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines and weather from WPBF 25Get the latest news updates with the WPBF 25 News app. You can download it here. Your neighborhood: Local coverage from WPBF 25 News