One person died and a woman was arrested after a car crash on Florida’s Turnpike near Sunrise Boulevard on Thursday during a pursuit involving Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and troopers, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The chase ended when “a collision took place as the vehicles traveled southbound, which resulted in a death of a motorist,” FHP spokesperson Lt. Indiana Miranda said in an email late Thursday night.
An FHP marked car, a Ford F250 pickup truck and a Nissan sedan were involved, Miranda said.
The death is the second in the past 10 days that occurred during a pursuit. On Feb. 16, an uninvolved driver was killed in Tamarac in a crash that occurred as BSO deputies pursued an aggravated battery suspect driving a stolen car.
A woman has been arrested, the Sheriff’s Office said in an update released about 11 p.m. Thursday. It’s not clear what charges she faces. Police did not identify the woman, who was taken to a hospital to be treated for unspecified injuries.
All southbound lanes from Sunrise Boulevard to Interstate 595 remained closed late Thursday night. It’s unknown when they will reopen.
The call began with deputies assisting Coconut Creek Police in an investigation of a stolen car out of Fort Lauderdale, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies became involved around the area of Sample Road and the turnpike.
FL511.com/Courtesy
Traffic was at a standstill for hours Thursday, Feb. 26, 2026, after a police pursuit and fatal crash on Florida’s Turnpike near Sunrise Boulevard. (FL511.com/Courtesy)
The driver of the stolen car struck a marked BSO vehicle and then struck a marked Coconut Creek Police vehicle near Sample Road and the turnpike, the Sheriff’s Office said.
“At that point, a pursuit was initiated for aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer,” the news release said.
About 4:30 p.m., multiple law enforcement officers were in pursuit of a white Ford pickup truck on the southbound lanes of the turnpike, according to first responders’ radio communications archived by the site Broadcastify and the Broward Sheriff’s Office.
The truck’s driver then headed south on the turnpike, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Traffic was gridlocked for hours starting at evening rush hour on Florida’s Turnpike in Broward County. (WSVN-7/Courtesy)
The two police officers whose cars were hit were taken to local hospitals with injuries that were not life-threatening, the Sheriff’s Office news release said.
Drivers are urged to use alternate routes by exiting at Commercial Boulevard “or avoiding the turnpike entirely,” Miranda said. Traffic in the area is being rerouted to exit at Sunrise Boulevard. The turnpike can be reentered south of Interstate 595.