JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Road Ranger was involved in one of two crashes Thursday afternoon on Interstate 10 near Chaffee Road that caused significant backups, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The first crash happened about 1:40 p.m. on eastbound I-10 at Chaffee Road and the second crash happened about 50 minutes later in the same area, the Highway Patrol website shows. Multiple people were reportedly taken to a hospital.
People who live in a mobile home park next to the interstate told News4Jax that the second crash happened while investigators were on scene.
“The first accident we hear, I was at the kitchen sink and hear a bang. I told my husband, ‘I think there’s an accident out there.’ I came out, and sure enough, a car clipped a semi," Theresa Harter said. "Took the whole passenger side off that car because they spun around and were facing the wrong way. We went into the house and it wasn’t maybe 50 or 40 minutes later, we heard another bang. We came outside and saw the other car in the back end of the Road Ranger’s truck, which took out the whole driver’s side.”
Her neighbors said they also heard the second crash.
“It startled me enough to almost knock me out my chair," Eva Cunningham said.
According to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, more than five patients were transported to the hospital. It’s unclear whether the Road Ranger was one of those patients.
As of 4:30 p.m., all lanes of I-10 were open, according to the FHP website.