WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Read the top stories with the most viewed photos from this week.
Fireball on the Turnpike: Truck with over 240 propane tanks explodes in St. Lucie Co.
ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — An early morning blaze transformed a stretch of the Florida Turnpike into a chaotic scene as firefighters battled a commercial vehicle fire engulfing a truck loaded with over 240 propane tanks.
The St. Lucie County Fire District said that the fire occurred at 6:05 a.m. Wednesday at mile marker 168 in Fort Pierce, between the Fort Drum Service Plaza and the Port St. Lucie–Fort Pierce Service Plaza on the Florida Turnpike, where a truck was transporting the propane tanks.
Upon arrival, firefighters reported finding a challenging situation with multiple propane tanks venting and exploding.
In response to the conditions, all lanes of the Florida Turnpike were shut down to ensure the safety of both the firefighters on the scene and passing motorists.
Read the full story here.
Police say a fight between mothers ended with gunfire in Boynton Beach
BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — A late-night argument between two women escalated into gunfire inside a Boynton Beach apartment, leaving one woman shot and triggering a multi-agency search for a missing child, according to police.
Justice Taneisha Guyton, 26, surrendered to the Boynton Beach Police Department on Thursday, hours after investigators say she shot 26-year-old La’Shay Lee during a physical altercation.
Guyton is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and shooting into an occupied dwelling. She is being held at the Palm Beach County Jail on a $100,000 bond and has been ordered to have no contact with the victim.
Court records show her contact with her child is limited to phone calls, pending approval from the Florida Department of Children and Families.
Read the full story here.
Driver trapped, airlifted after violent crash near I-95 in Hobe Sound
HOBE SOUND, Fla. (CBS12) — Firefighters had to cut off a car’s roof Tuesday morning to rescue a trapped driver after a violent crash near SE Bridge Road and I-95.
Firefighters with the Martin County Fire Rescue say they responded to a multi-vehicle crash just before 8 a.m. on Tuesday near SE Bridge Road near I-95.
The crash happened in the same vicinity as the deadly crash that killed two teens in Hobe Sound on Friday night, according to previous reports.
The crash reportedly resulted in a complex rescue operation due to a driver being trapped in their vehicle.
Read the full story here.
Two members of PBSO disciplined after losing their guns
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (CBS12) — Two members of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office have been disciplined after losing their PBSO-issued firearms.
Two recently closed PBSO Internal Affairs investigations reveal that a PBSO undercover agent and a PBSO deputy lost their guns.
PBSO Undercover Agent, whose name is redacted in the IA report, carelessly handled and lost his narcotics undercover wallet and his PBSO-issued Glock 43X MOS handgun.
The wallet contained a secondary driver’s license, a PBSO-issued Wells Fargo debit card, and $300 in investigative funds.
Read the full story here.
Beach closures begin as nearly $15M renourishment project underway on Hutchinson Island
HUTCHINSON ISLAND, Fla. (CBS12) — Another multi-million-dollar project beginning in St. Lucie County.
Starting Monday, parts of about 3.3 miles of popular shoreline on Hutchinson Island will face intermittent closures as part of the ‘South St. Lucie County Coastal Storm Risk Management Project.’
It’s a project that first came to fruition in 2018 and was completed in 2022. After escarpment and wind erosion from Category 1 Hurricane Nicole hitting Hutchinson Island head-on in November of that year, another renourishment project was slated for 2026.
St. Lucie County officials say this nearly $15-million renourishment project will not only help protect the beach against future storms, but also create a healthier habitat for sea turtle nesting.
Read the full story here.