MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. (CBS12) — A devastating string of traffic accidents has left five people dead over a four-day span in Martin County, prompting local law enforcement to flood the roads with extra patrols ahead of the busy Fourth of July holiday weekend.

The Martin County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) and Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) are urging drivers to slow down, eliminate distractions, and remain patient as traffic volumes surge.

The most recent tragedy involved a violent multi-vehicle crash on the Florida Turnpike that completely paralyzed traffic, shutting down both northbound and southbound lanes for over nine hours before reopening around 9 p.m.

According to MCSO Captain Joseph Collazo, the preliminary details of the crash paint a harrowing scene. A four-door Tesla sedan traveling southbound lost control near a break in the median’s concrete barriers. The Tesla veered across the median into oncoming northbound traffic, where it sideswiped another vehicle before colliding head-on with a semi-truck.

Arriving deputies found the sedan completely mangled, particularly the rear portion of the vehicle. Despite immediate life-saving efforts by deputies on the scene, two occupants inside the vehicle were pronounced dead. The driver of the semi-truck and an occupant of the sideswiped vehicle survived the crash and were treated and transported with injuries.

Captain Joseph Collazo with MCSO says holiday traffic is a large factor in crashes around this time of year.

“Going into the holidays, we understand that, you know, people are traveling. We know that our roadways are overly congested as it is. We are upping our enforcement measures as best we can with the personnel that we have,” said Collazo.

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The double fatality on the Turnpike follows multiple other deadly incidents in the county over the last few days, including a fatal crash on Allapattah Road. FHP revealed a 31-year-old driving a Mercury Grand Marquis swerved into oncoming traffic around 6:30 a.m. and hit a 63-year-old driving a Jeep Patriot. Both drivers were pronounced dead at the scene. FHP also says only one of the drivers was wearing a seatbelt during the crash.

Lieutenant Indiana Miranda with FHP says many of these crashes are due to driver error.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s a road error or a speed factor. It’s a user error. If we don’t follow the laws like we need to, we wouldn’t wear our seatbelt. And we don’t follow basically traffic laws. These things are going to happen,” said Miranda

A massive point of emphasis for the holiday weekend is taking impaired drivers off the road. Captain Collazo offered a blunt message to anyone thinking about drinking and driving, stating that nobody plans on going to jail or getting a DUI. Drivers are looking at $10,000 on the other side of a DUI conviction.

“The biggest thing is just to focus on the roadway and understand it. It’s kind of a mundane thing. Everybody drives a lot throughout the day and, kind of take for granted how dangerous that situation is,” said Collazo.

FHP says the 100-day stretch between June and Labor Day is the deadliest for roads in Florida.