Three adults were hospitalized following a two-vehicle crash that occurred just before 4:15 a.m. at West Broward Boulevard and Northwest Seventh Avenue in Fort Lauderdale, according to Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue. The collision shut down both directions of the major roadway during the morning commute and led to a secondary incident involving a fire rescue truck. All three victims were transported to the trauma center at Broward Health Medical Center, though their conditions have not been released.
After the initial collision between two civilian vehicles, a Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue truck was struck by one of the vehicles involved in the crash. The three firefighters on board the fire truck were not injured in the secondary impact. Heavy damage was observed at the scene, including a white car that appeared to be severely crushed and an Audi with significant front-end damage.
“I heard a loud banging, and when I came out, I seen the black car going up the street, and the white car slammed into the fire truck,” said one witness who declined to provide his name. “A lot of people stopped… It was real bad.” The witness described the severity of the initial crash, noting that victims were trapped in their vehicle following the impact.
“They had to use the jaws of life to get the people out. They were trapped, on the driver’s side they were trapped,” the witness said. “It was horrible.” Emergency responders had to use specialized extraction equipment to free the victims from the wreckage before transporting them to Broward Health Medical Center for treatment.
Debris was scattered across the roadway as investigators examined the crash scene throughout the early morning hours. Both directions of Broward Boulevard remained closed at Northwest Seventh Avenue and were expected to stay shut down into the morning rush hour. Authorities urged drivers to seek alternate routes, with officials specifically recommending Sunrise Boulevard as an alternative.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by Fort Lauderdale authorities. The intersection of West Broward Boulevard and Northwest Seventh Avenue is a major thoroughfare in the city, making the closure particularly disruptive to morning commuters. Traffic investigators continued to process the scene as the roadway closure extended into rush hour traffic.