A 78-year-old Melbourne woman was killed on Interstate 95 in Brevard County late Sunday morning after a “tire malfunction” caused her pickup truck to leave the roadway and crash into several trees.
The fatal accident took place on I-95 at around 11:50 a.m. on Sunday, November 24, near mile marker 177, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
The report stated that a 2008 Ford F-250 was traveling northbound on I-95, north of County Road 516 (Palm Bay Road), in the outside lane when the pickup truck’s front right tire “suffered a malfunction.”
As a result, the pickup truck veered to the right and traveled onto the grass shoulder. Moments later, the vehicle collided with two trees and a fence before coming to a final rest.
The pickup truck’s elderly driver and sole occupant sustained fatal injuries, and she was pronounced deceased at the scene. A trooper noted in the report that the driver was wearing a seatbelt during the crash.
The single-vehicle accident remains under investigation, according to FHP.