Daytona Beach, FL – A 29-year-old Port Orange man is dead following an accident on Interstate 4 in Daytona Beach early Saturday morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol says it happened around 5:45 AM on the eastbound side at Mile Marker 131. That’s near where I-4 meets Interstate 95.
FHP Sergeant Kim Montes says 2 vehicles – a 2001 Chevy sport utility vehicle and a 2015 Mercedes 4-door – were involved in the crash.
“[The Chevy]” was traveling eastbound in the right lane,” Montes stated. “[The Mercedes] was traveling eastbound in the left lane at a high rate of speed approaching [the Chevy].”
Troopers think the driver of the Chevy – 42-year-old Delzie Kimbel of Apopka – tried to merge into the right lane and bumped into the driver’s side of the Mercedes with the passenger side of the Chevy.
“The impact caused both [vehicles] to overturn,” Montes noted. “The driver [of the Mercedes] was ejected through the sunroof and died on scene.”
FHP hasn’t identified the man who died at this time. An autopsy is pending to determine if he had alcohol or drugs in his system at the time of the crash.
Kimbel and a passenger in her vehicle – 29-year-old Robert Crosby of Plymouth – had minor injuries but refused transport to the hospital, per troopers.
A passenger in the Mercedes – 31-year-old Abdallah Bin Ishaq of Daytona Beach – also had minor injuries and went to Halifax Health Medical Center for treatment.
Neither Kimbel nor the passengers were suspected of being on drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, according to the FHP accident report. It also shows all 3 of them were also wearing seatbelts while the Mercedes driver was not.
Troopers closed the eastbound side of I-4 soon after the crash and had all traffic detour at State Road 44 as investigators processed the scene. The road has since re-opened, according to FHP’s traffic website.
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