A pedestrian was fatally struck by a vehicle early Tuesday on South John Young Parkway in Orlando, prompting police to shut down all lanes of the busy corridor near Columbia Street and L B McLeod Road for hours. Orlando Police Department officers arrived at the scene around 6:50 a.m., and the closure snarled traffic through much of the morning and into the afternoon.
According to WFTV, both northbound and southbound lanes of John Young Parkway between L B McLeod Road and Columbia Street were closed while officers worked the scene. Florida 511 warned drivers of major delays and urged motorists to move over or slow down for road rangers assisting at the site, the outlet reported. Orlando police announced that all lanes of the roadway had reopened at 2:27 p.m. Tuesday.
The case remains an active investigation, and police say no further information is available at this time, per the same report.
A Corridor With a Troubled Safety Record
Florida 511's advisory pointed drivers toward Section 316.126 of the Florida Statutes, Florida's Move Over Law, which was expanded effective January 1, 2025, to require drivers to vacate the lane closest to stopped emergency, law-enforcement, service, or disabled vehicles with hazard lights on, or, when it is unsafe to move over, slow to at least 20 mph below the posted speed limit, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. The advisory directed drivers to follow the law while road rangers and officers assisted at the site.
South John Young Parkway, identified inconsistently as State Road 423 and County Road 423 in the supplied sources, is a six-lane roadway that runs directly north of an Interstate 4 diamond interchange, according to AARoads. The Florida Department of Transportation has previously widened exit ramps and added turn-lane modifications near the South John Young Parkway and L B McLeod Road interchange to ease congestion and merging conflicts, according to the agency's I-4 Beyond The Ultimate program updates.
Traffic safety analyses of state crash logs from 2018 through 2023 found that State Road 423 recorded 973 total vehicle crashes, with 38 resulting in death or serious injury, according to Farah & Farah. In a related report, FOX 35 Orlando said Florida Highway Patrol troopers investigated an early-Wednesday hit-and-run crash on John Young Parkway near West Oak Ridge Road that killed a male pedestrian. In March 2024, another fatal pedestrian crash occurred on John Young Parkway near 33rd Street when a pedestrian was struck late at night by an Orlando Police Department patrol car, FOX 35 Orlando also reported.
Orange County's Pedestrian Death Toll Stays High
Preliminary data from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles agency showed Orange County recorded 727 pedestrian crashes and 45 pedestrian fatalities in 2025 out of roughly 25,261 total traffic collisions countywide, per HOV Law. Statewide, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles recorded more than 9,100 pedestrian crashes in 2024, keeping Florida among the top three deadliest states for pedestrians nationwide, according to MANGAL PLLC.
There has been some regional improvement. Smart Growth America's Dangerous by Design 2026 report included general findings on pedestrian safety; see ClickOrlando. MetroPlan Orlando launched its regionwide Vision Zero Central Florida initiative in late 2023, backed by a $3.79 million federal grant to map High Injury Networks and eliminate traffic deaths across Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties, per MetroPlan Orlando.
Tuesday's crash follows other recent fatal incidents across the region. Related reports include a linked report and another linked report. Orlando police have not released further details on Tuesday's crash, and the investigation remains open.
