1-Year-Old Boy Killed, 6 Others Injured In West Broward Rollover Crash
BROWARD (CBSMiami) – A heartbreaking end to the search for a little boy thrown from his family's truck during a rollover crash.
It all started at around 4:30 p.m. Thursday when the crash was called in.
The Broward Sheriff's Office was the first on the scene, learning three adults and four children were involved in the accident.
"The vehicle rolled several times and ended up facing down," said Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Yanko Reyes.
Traffic backed up for hours for drivers going eastbound on I-75 along Alligator Alley.
The single-vehicle rollover accident sent six people to the hospital, and started a frantic search for a 1-year-old boy ejected from the Nissan Frontier.
"We conducted a thorough search and we were able to find the deceased body of the 1-year-old male in the canal who was facing up," Reyes said. "One of our team members stumbled upon him and the body was recovered."
It's unclear if the little boy was in a car seat at the time of the accident. Police divers found his body under the water.
"There were some witnesses that stopped. The Broward Sheriff's Office was the first agency on scene. Some of their deputies actually went into the canal searching for this missing child," Reyes said.
Florida Highway Patrol told CBS4's Mike Cugno the family has been notified of the 1-year-old boy's passing.
Right now, an investigation into the accident is ongoing, including whether or not seven passengers were too many for the Nissan Frontier pickup truck.
FHP said the other six passengers were able to get out of the truck themselves and alert police that the boy was missing.
Investigators are still trying to figure out what exactly caused the rollover, but they believe it was due to a blown out tire.
