5 Go To Hospital After Chain Reaction Crash On U.S. 1

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Holly Hill, FL - Part of U.S. 1 in Holly Hill is open again after it was closed for over three hours due to a chain-reaction accident which sent five people to the hospital and spilled chemicals onto the road. It happened around 11 a.m. at the Calle Grande Street intersection, just east of Riviera Golf & Country Club.
Four vehicles were involved in that accident, including a motorcycle, prompting the Holly Hill Police Department to send out this warning on Twitter soon afterward.
Florida Highway Patrol Lieutenant Kim Montes tells us one of those vehicles - a U-Haul cargo van - had citric acid and chlorine inside which spilled onto the road after it rear-ended the vehicle in front, starting the chain reaction. "All [the] vehicles were [heading] southbound," Montes added. "For some reason, the driver of the U-Haul failed to slow [down and] ran into the two vehicles and the motorcycle, pinning the motorcyclist [between the vehicles]." That motorcyclist and the driver of the U-Haul went to Halifax Health Medical Center as trauma alerts, with the U-Haul driver needing additional assistance from paramedics because he had breathed in some of the chemicals. The motorcyclist is now in stable condition, while the U-Haul driver is in critical condition. "We don't know why he lost control [and] if it was related to the [chemical] fumes," Montes noted. Three others involved in the crash were also transported to the hospital with moderate injuries, but all of them should survive, per Montes. None of the names of the people involved have been released, but Montes has said charges are likely coming against the U-Haul driver. Volusia County HAZMAT crews were called to the scene to assist in the cleanup, while tow trucks also responded to haul all the vehicles away.
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