One dies after car plunges from overpass unto southbound lanes of Florida's Turnpike near Boca Raton

All Florida’s Turnpike lanes have reopened after a fatal crash in suburban Boca Raton shut down southbound traffic for more than four hours between Glades Road and the Sawgrass Expressway, a Palm Beach County sheriff’s spokesman said.

Police had diverted southbound traffic at the Glades Road exit around the scene where a driver was killed after driving off the Southwest 18th Street overpass, crashing into the turnpike below, Deputy Eric Davis said.

The wreck snarled traffic for miles in both directions of Florida’s Turnpike from noon to 4:30 p.m.

The turnpike’s southbound lanes were shut down and traffic backed up to nearly Atlantic Avenue while authorities worked the crime scene, Davis said. Eastbound lanes of Southwest 18th Street at Boca Rio Road were also closed. And onlooker delays slowed the northbound lanes for about six miles, from the accident site to the Sawgrass in northern Broward County.

Sheriff’s investigators are still on the scene collecting evidence. The sheriff’s office said information from the person’s next of kin indicated the driver had talked about committing suicide, Davis said.