Officials suspect two crashes on Interstate 4 that left one woman dead in Orange County may be related, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
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An FHP crash report stated a 44-year-old woman was driving a 2017 Honda Accord, along with a 9-year-old girl, both from Lakeland, traveling eastbound around 7:45 a.m. on I-4 approaching the exit ramp to Daryl Carter Parkway.
The report stated the woman suffered a possible medical episode, causing her to travel onto the grass median separating the exit ramp from the highway travel lanes, and then striking a curb.
The front of the Accord collided with a concrete traffic barrier on the north shoulder of Daryl Carter Parkway at the entrance ramp for eastbound I-4. FHP said the impact caused the vehicle to catch on fire, the report said.
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The woman was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, while the girl was taken to Orlando Health Children’s Arnold Palmer Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
FHP believed that the deceased was involved in a previous crash with a 2019 Volkswagen Tiguan, with no reported injuries, on I-4 at mile marker 69 shortly before the fatal crash.
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Both crashes remain under investigation, officials said.