5 dead in three-car crash on Florida highway, cops say

Five people, including a 1-year-old girl, were killed in a three-car crash on a Florida highway, according to a crash report.

A 2015 Ford Explorer carrying seven people was traveling northbound on Tampa Highway just after 9:20 p.m. Oct. 30 when it crossed the center lane for “an unknown reason,” according to a report from Florida Highway Patrol.

A southbound Ford Explorer and a 2021 Nissan Frontier collided “nearly head-on,” the report said.

The Ford Explorer pulled onto the westbound shoulder of the highway and the Nissan Frontier stopped in the southbound lane with no lights on. A southbound tractor-trailer struck the passenger side of a Nissan Frontier, sending both vehicles onto the eastbound shoulder of the highway.

The 20-year-old driver of the Ford Explorer and the 56-year-old and 12-year-old passengers died at the scene, the report said. A 1-year-old child, who was also in the vehicle, later died at the hospital.

The 53-year-old driver of the Nissan Frontier died at the scene, the report said. There were no passengers in this vehicle.

The 60-year-old man driving the tractor-trailer was not injured.

Three other passengers in the Ford Explorer — a 22-year-old woman, a 31-year-old woman and a 5-year-old girl — were seriously injured, according to the report.

Tampa is about 84 miles southwest of Orlando.