Florida Highway Patrol Says Six People Died After a Fiery Crash on the Florida Turnpike in Orange County Late Friday Night
ORLANDO, FL — Six people were killed Friday night when an SUV collided with a Florida Turnpike Road Ranger truck in Orange County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened around 9:31 p.m. in the northbound lanes near mile marker 252. Troopers said both vehicles caught fire after the impact, trapping the people inside the SUV before they could get out.
The driver of the Road Ranger truck survived with minor injuries. He stayed at the scene to help investigators, while FHP continued to examine how the deadly chain of events unfolded.
Troopers say the Road Ranger was already helping with another incident
Florida Highway Patrol said the Road Ranger truck had been parked in the median with its emergency lights activated while its driver assisted with an earlier crash or traffic problem.
Officials said the 28-year-old Kissimmee man driving the truck had then been dispatched to help a disabled box truck on the outside shoulder. As he began moving across the roadway, the SUV approached in the inside northbound lane.
That sequence, troopers said, put the truck and the SUV on a collision course just before the fatal impact. The agency has not said whether additional vehicles were involved in the earlier roadside response.
Witnesses told investigators the SUV was speeding and had no headlights
According to witness statements shared by FHP, the 2023 Chevrolet Traverse was traveling at a high rate of speed and did not have its headlights on.
Investigators said the driver of the SUV failed to avoid the Road Ranger truck as it moved across the roadway. The front left side of the Traverse struck the truck’s right rear side.
That impact sent both vehicles off the roadway and into flames, turning what had been a roadside assistance call into a deadly crash in a matter of seconds.
All six people inside the SUV were pronounced dead at the scene
Troopers said the SUV’s driver and five adult passengers were trapped inside the burning vehicle. All six were pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities have not released the identities of the victims. FHP said the crash remains under investigation, and more details are expected only after investigators finish notifying families and reviewing the evidence.
The severity of the fire and the speed of the collision left little time for a rescue response, according to the initial account from troopers.
The Road Ranger driver escaped serious harm
The Road Ranger driver suffered minor injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. He was not taken to a hospital.
Instead, he remained at the scene and assisted investigators as they worked the crash site. FHP has not said whether he has given a formal statement beyond the initial account of the incident.
Road Rangers are used along Florida highways to help motorists and clear roadway incidents, making them a familiar part of the state’s traffic response system.
Investigators have not yet said what caused the deadly chain of events
At this point, FHP has not announced any charges or identified a specific cause beyond the sequence of the collision itself. The agency said the case is still open.
The known facts point to a late-night crash on a busy stretch of the Turnpike, involving a roadside assistance truck, a disabled vehicle, and a speeding SUV with no headlights, but investigators have not issued a final determination.
The information released Friday came from the Florida Highway Patrol on Oct. 24, 2026.