A fatal crash during the Fourth of July weekend happened on a roadway in Indiantown that the Martin County sheriff has called a “death trap.”
The crash occurred about 2 a.m. July 5 on Southwest Warfield Boulevard, which is State Road 710 or Beeline Highway, and Southwest Silver Fox Lane, where it becomes Southwest Fox Brown Road, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.
A 2015 Kia Optima car was traveling north on Warfield Boulevard in the northbound lane south of Silver Fox Lane while a 2021 Toyota Tundra truck was traveling south in the same area in the southbound lane, according to the release.
The driver of the car, a 40-year-old man, traveled into the path of the truck, and the left front part of the car hit the left front part of the truck, according to the release. The car burst into flames upon impact.
The car came to a rest on the grass shoulder of Warfield facing north while the truck came to a rest within the southbound lane facing southeast, according to the release.
Martin County Fire Rescue crews arrived to find the car fully engulfed in flames and worked to extinguish the fire, according to officials, but the 40-year-old driver of the car died at the scene of the crash.
The 41-year-old man from Indiantown driving the truck was flown to the hospital with traumatic injuries, according to FHP and Fire Rescue officials.
FHP did not name anyone involved in the crash.
Roadways in the area temporarily closed after the crash, which remained under investigation.
In January, Martin County Sheriff John Budensiek urged residents to contact state representatives and public officials to voice their concerns about the roadway, which he described as a “death trap” after three traffic-related deaths in Southwest Warfield Boulevard crashes.
A Jan. 12 crash occurred when a 73-year-old woman, a 44-year-old man and a 53-year-old woman, all from Romania, traveled east in a 2013 Toyota slowing for a construction flagger trying to stop traffic about a quarter-mile east of Southwest Impact Drive, according to Florida Highway Patrol officials.
Meanwhile, a 2025 Ford pickup, driven by a 27-year-old Pahokee man with a 27-year-old Belle Glade man as a passenger, also was eastbound and crashed into the back of the Toyota. The Toyota then went into the westbound lane and crashed with a 2019 Ford Transit van driven by a 62-year-old Okeechobee man.
The 73-year-old woman and 44-year-old man died, one at the scene and the other at a hospital. The third person in the Toyota was in critical condition.
The 27-year-old Pahokee man was jailed on charges that included two counts each DUI manslaughter and driving while license suspended causing death, according to the FHP. The passenger was taken to jail on an immigration related issue.
Before that crash, another deadly crash occurred about 10:30 p.m. Jan. 10 near Southwest FP&L Access Road, according to Florida Highway Patrol officials. A 21-year-old Tequesta man died, and a 30-year-old Okeechobee resident had serious injuries.
The Tequesta man reportedly drove a 2023 Kia south in the northbound lane, crashing with the front of a northbound 2019 Chevrolet pickup. The drivers were flown via helicopter to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce, where the 21-year-old man died.
Laurie K. Blandford is a breaking news reporter with TCPalm. Email her at laurie.blandford@tcpalm.com.
This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: Fatal crash on Florida road Martin County sheriff called ‘death trap’
Reporting by Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers / Treasure Coast Newspapers
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By Laurie K. Blandford, Treasure Coast Newspapers | USA TODAY Network
