SOUTH BAY, Fla. — One man died and another man was injured when a tractor-trailer truck jackknifed in a crash with a dump truck about 5 miles south of South Bay on Wednesday afternoon, Palm Beach County Fire Rescue and Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said.
The truck driver, Efrain Betancourt, 43, of Saint Cloud, was pronounced dead at the scene and the dump trucker driver, Boberto M. Rodriguez, 40, of Miami Gardens, was taken to Lakeside Medical Center in Belle Glade with minor injuries, PBSO said in a release.
The crash was at 1:24 p.m. on southbound U.S. 27 at Mile Marker 62.
The dump truck entered U.S. 27 South from a construction site entrance and traveled northbound within the outside lane of travel.
The tractor-trailer was traveling northbound and overtook the dump truck, which was traveling slower and the bigger truck failed to take evasive action, colliding with the dump trump.
The front of the tractor-trailer impacted the rear of the dump truck, which was redirected to the northwest and traveled over the median, crossing southbound lanes and came to final rest on the western shoulder of U.S. 27.
The tractor-trailer jackknifed while continuing to travel northbound within the outside lane of U.S. 27 South. As it jackknifed, the load shifted forward and crushed the cab.
PBFR reported the tractor-trailer had heavy damage and a heavy-duty rotator wrecker was used to help with clearing, PBFR said in an inquiry from WPTV.
PBFR units were off the scene as of 2:45 p.m., but the road was blocked for several hours, preventing sugar workers from going through the area.
On Tuesday, another person died on the highway just 6.5 miles away at mile marker 68.5. Investigators are searching for the driver involved in a fatal hit-run crash of a pedestrian, Florida Highway Patrol said.