North Fort Myers women killed, infants seriously injured in I-75 crash

BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – Two North Fort Myers women were killed and three others were seriously injured after a crash on I-75 Tuesday evening.

Around 5:30 p.m., a tire blew on an SUV driven by a 47-year-old North Fort Myers woman around mile marker 38 on Alligator Alley, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The woman was driving with a 22-year-old woman, a 40-year-old woman, a 2-year-old girl, and a 2-year-old boy all from North Fort Myers, troopers said.

The driver lost control and ran off the roadway crashing into a barbed-wire fence before ending up in a canal off the interstate.

Troopers said the SUV was submerged in the canal when multiple people jumped into the water to help the women and children in the car.

The driver and 22-year-old passenger were both later pronounced dead at the hospital.

The three other passengers including the infants and the 40-year-old woman were taken to Broward Health with serious injuries.

No further details were immediately available.