ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A three-vehicle crash Thursday morning on Interstate 95 at mile marker 329, just south of County Road 210, sent five people to area hospitals, two with serious injuries.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a Toyota RAV4 failed to slow down when southbound traffic began to back up just after 8 a.m. and struck the rear of a Chrysler Sebring and a Nissan Altima. The Toyota RAV4 overturned. It's driver, Anthony Hickox, 33, of Jacksonville, was airlifted to UF Health Jacksonville with serious injuries.
The driver of the Sebring and her passenger, both of Jacksonville, were taken to Baptist South with serious injures. Two children, ages 6 and 7, who were passengers in the car, received minor injuries.
The driver of the Nissan was also taken to Baptist South with minor injuries.
The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office assisted the FHP with traffic control as all southbound lanes were closed for nearly an hour.
At 10:15 a.m., southbound lanes remained slow, but were moving. Traffic was back to normal by noon.
Northbound lanes were affected as well with onlooker delays.
Hundreds of wrecks along same stretch of highway
The Interstate 95 corridor in St. Johns County where the crash was reported is no stranger to wrecks.
In January, a crash between a tractor-trailer and an SUV killed a St. Augustine man.
Last year, the nearly 20-mile stretch of highway in St. Johns County had the most deaths in Northeast Florida.
The Florida Highway Patrol said hot spots for crashes along I-95 in St. Johns County are at the intersections of State Road 207, S.R. 16, International Golf Parkway and County Road 210, where Thursday's crash happened.
According to Florida's Integrated Report Exchange System (FIRES), state troopers have responded to 317 crashes involving 579 vehicles, in just the past year.
VIEW: Florida's Integrated Report Exchange System
Of those crashes, 154 involved injuries, and five people were killed.
Troopers said speeding and distracted driving cause most of the wrecks.
Since last year, troopers have increased their enforcement patrol and added safety signs to help cut down on those statistics.