Ford, Driven By Woman, Falls Into Canal In Florida, 9 People Died

PIXABAY ILLUSTRATION

Nine people were killed and one person seriously injured when an overloaded SUV was out of control on the South Florida road. The car hit the guardrail and plunged into the canal.

Ford Explorer 2023, which took the 10 people, traveled south on the Hatton Highway near the Belle total agriculture community at around 19.30 Monday, August 6 local time.

The female driver failed to pass the turns and exited the highway. The SUV hit the guardrail before plunging into the canal parallel to the road.

The sheriff's office told CBS News they were unsure the crash was linked to flooding or the remains of Tropical Storm Debby, which hit Florida on Monday as a Category 1 storm.

Palm Beach County Fire Rescuer Captain Tom Reyes said when the crew arrived the SUV capsized and some were underwater.

Four people were declared dead at the scene, while five people died in hospital.

The driver was among the dead. Meanwhile, the 26-year-old man who was a passenger was rescued and was seriously injured.

I've been working in this department for 20 years and this is one of the hardest scenes I've ever experienced, "According to several Ford dealer sites, Explorer 2023 has a maximum capacity of seven people.

There were no names of dead victims, their age or further details released but Reyes said children and adults were inside Explorer, CBS affiliate, WPEC-TV, reported.

Our thoughts and prayers were with the family during this heartbreaking incident, the sheriff's office wrote on social media.

Belle totaled just south of Lake Okeechobee and about 75 miles west of West Palm Beach.