At Least 3 Killed in Crashes on Foggy 20-Mile Stretch of Florida Interstate

Three people died Thursday on Interstate 95 in Florida during several car crashes as super fog was reported in the area.

The National Weather Service (NWS) defines super fog as "condensed water vapor combined with a mixture of smoke and moisture," which can drastically reduce visibility.

The NWS later tweeted, "Unfortunately, super fog contributed to the incident on I-95 in Volusia Co early this AM. With super fog, visibility is lowered to <10ft. It has caused several large pileups, namely on I-4 near Davenport (2008) & on I-75 S of Gainesville (2012). Our thoughts are with the victims."

The crashes began at around 1:30 a.m. south of Daytona Beach. Drivers described there was "zero visibility" at the time of the crash, likely due to super fog. The smoke may have come from a prescribed burn in the area overnight, Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) troopers said.

"I arrived on scene 90 minutes after the crash, and as I approached the scene, I could not see the front of my vehicle, due to smoke and fog," FHP spokeswoman Lieutenant Kim Montes told Newsweek.

At leastfive separate crashes involving at least 17 vehicles, including semi-trucks, were reported on both sides of the highway in Volusia County, according to Montes.

Two people died in a six-vehicle collision on I-95 south. The crash involved an SUV, a van and four semi-trucks. One of the drivers in the semi-truck and the SUV's driver died in the crash, FHP troopers said, according to WKMG.

Another four crashes, involving 11 vehicles, were reported northbound, and one person was killed. Multiple people were transported to hospitals in the area, but it is not known how many. At least one child was airlifted to the hospital and was in stable condition.

Troopers say at least two trailers burst into flames during the crashes. The northbound lanes were damaged by the crashes and fire. An emergency paving crew will repair the road once debris is removed from the site.

The exact number of cars involved in the several crashes or the cause of the fire and explosions during the northbound crash have not been identified at this time.

Troopers said they did not have advance notice of the overnight burn, so they were not in the area monitoring it when the crashes occurred, according to WESH. Drivers reported visibility in the area suddenly dropped to zero. Some drivers had stopped on the shoulder of the interstate, while others stopped in the road, Montes said according to WKMG.

Update 03/03/22, 10:35 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with more background and information.

Update 03/03/22, 5:15 p.m. ET: This story has been updated with a statement from FHP spokeswoman Lieutenant Kim Montes.