A Florida man from Vero Beach is being remembered for his selfless act that turned into tragedy along Interstate 95 on Sunday.
Florida Highway Patrol says 87-year-old Frank Quinn was struck and killed while trying to rescue a turtle on the highway in Indian River County. The crash shut down southbound lanes for hours, leaving drivers stranded in extreme heat.
Among them was the Smith family, who were heading home from a holiday weekend when traffic came to a standstill near the Sebastian/Fellsmere exit.
“And the next thing you know, we’re heading south, we see all the brake lights starting about two or three miles before the Sebastian Fellsmere exit,” said Braiden Smith.
Braiden and his wife Kaylee recorded video showing the long lines of cars stuck behind the deadly incident.
With their Tesla battery draining and three kids in the backseat, the Smiths began to worry about how long they’d be stuck.
“Let’s try to get as far to the front of the blockade as we can so that we’re up here, and when things do reopen we can let law enforcement know like hey, we urgently need to get to that next exit or we’re going to be stranded here with our family of five, with three young children and no battery and no AC,” Smith said.
However, Quinn’s actions left an impression on the family.
“Because all this was… was a kind act that someone unfortunately paid the ultimate price for,” Smith added.
The Scripps News Group in West Palm Beach reached out to Florida Highway Patrol for more information about the crash and the traffic management during the hours-long shutdown. They had not responded at the time of this story's publication.
WATCH: Pedestrian killed on I-95 in Indian River County
Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said this incident raises questions about how highway officials manage extended closures.
“For those people who have already made it past that exit, they’re just stuck there and they need some sort of relief,” Flowers said. “That’s something FHP should definitely be considering if they know for sure they’re going to be set up for an extended period of time.”
Investigators reopened the southbound lanes several hours after the crash.
The Smith family told the Scripps News Group they were finally able to exit the highway thanks to a Cybertruck driver who gave their vehicle a charge.
This story was originally published by Romelo Styles with the Scripps News Group in West Palm Beach.
