A 60-year-old Vero Beach man is dead after a semi-truck turned into the path of his SUV at a rural Indian River County intersection early Thursday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The man was pronounced dead just after 8 a.m. after being rushed to a Melbourne hospital, while the truck driver walked away unhurt.
Truck Pulled Out From Stop Sign Into Oncoming SUV
The crash happened around 6:45 a.m. at the intersection of 66th Avenue and 49th Street in unincorporated Indian River County, according to WPTV. Troopers said a Freightliner semi-truck was attempting to turn left from a stop sign at westbound 49th Street onto 66th Avenue when it entered the path of a northbound Dodge Durango traveling in the inside lane of 66th Avenue. The front of the SUV collided with the left side of the semi-trailer, and both vehicles came to rest in the area of the collision.
FHP noted that 66th Avenue had no traffic controls at the intersection where the two vehicles met. The SUV driver, a 60-year-old Vero Beach man, was taken to Health First's Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne, where he was pronounced dead just after 8 a.m. The Freightliner's driver, a 59-year-old Jacksonville man, was not injured in the crash. The investigation into exactly what led up to the collision is ongoing, the station's report notes.
Stretch of Road Has Seen Other Deadly Crashes
Thursday's crash is not the first fatal collision tied to the 66th Avenue corridor in Indian River County. In April 2025, a 21-year-old Vero Beach woman was killed after veering into the path of an oncoming truck while turning left onto Oslo Road, according to Vero News. That crash, reported by FHP troopers, happened about 3:14 p.m. at the intersection of Oslo Road and 66th Avenue and involved a 2008 Honda Civic and a 2024 Ford F-250 carrying a trailer.
Months earlier, in December 2024, a motorcyclist died following a crash with a van at a State Road 60 intersection in Indian River County, according to TCPalm. The 39-year-old man was taken to a local hospital and declared deceased, that outlet reported. The evidence available does not establish that these incidents reflect a confirmed crash pattern at the same intersection, but they underscore the stretch of 66th Avenue has drawn repeated scrutiny for fatal wrecks.
Separately, Indian River County's public works department lists a project to signalize the intersection of 66th Avenue and 8th Street, installing mast-arm assemblies and related equipment, according to Indian River County. That project applies to a different intersection along the same roadway and is not tied to Thursday's crash.
Thursday's collision remains under investigation, and no further details about the cause have been released.
