911 call from deadly I-75 crash: 'We cannot see'

ALACHUA COUNTY -- 

The Florida Highway Patrol has released 911 calls reporting a series of horrific crashes in low-visibility conditions on I-75 late Saturday and early Sunday.

The crashes killed 10 people, the seventh of whom was identified Tuesday, and injured at least another 21.

Tuesday, the FHP identified Christie Diana Nguyen, 27, of Gainesville, as one of those who died. She was a passenger in a car that crashed.

The FHP said authorities are still working to identify three of the victims.

Five of six occupants from Kennesaw, Ga., traveling in a 2012 Dodge Caravan were killed. Only a 15-year-old in the van survived the crash.

The victims were identified Monday as Edson Carmo 38; Roselia DeSilva, 41; Jose Carmo Jr., 43; Adrianna Carmo, 39; and Leticia Carmo, 17.

Two people traveling in a 2005 Toyota Matrix were killed. One of the victims was identified as Jason Lee Raikes, 26, of Richmond, Va.

Callers reported crash after crash to 911, some of the accidents happened as they were on the phone with operators. Their panicked voices as well as the crashes themselves can be heard on the tapes.

Some excerpts:

Caller: "I can’t see anything, it’s so dense, the fog is so dense and we just hit a guardrail. And I think there was another accident behind us ‘cause I heard it."

911: "I’m going to have to let you go, we have a lot of lines ringing right now but we do have help going out there too and..."
Caller: "Oh, (expletive), another accident."
911: "Okay."
Caller: "Oh my gosh."
911: "What just happened? Tell me what happened?"
Caller: "Another accident, another accident going northbound."
911: "Okay."
Caller: "Oh my goodness and that was a truck."
911: "Okay, and what kind of truck? Like a semi or pickup?
Caller: "We can’t see, we cannot see. It’s like impossible to see. The haze is uh, the smoke, is like very thick. You can hardly see your hand in front."

(Boom) Caller: "Oh my God, what is going on?"
911: "We are getting help out there, okay?"
Caller: "Oh my goodness."
911: "How many vehicles have been involved that you’ve seen so far?"
Caller: "We cannot see, ma’am. We cannot see."

At a press conference Monday afternoon, FHP officials say they have made good progress on notifying next of kin but three victims remain unidentified.

"In the course of the collisions the vehicles caught on fire, and they were burned very, very severely to the point where positive identification has been a hurdle for us," said FHP Lt. Patrick Riordan.

In the first of what could be several reports released Monday afternoon, FHP detailed a three-vehicle crash late Saturday that precipitated the closure of I-75 in Alachua County from midnight to 3:30 a.m.

Sunday's deadly crashes occurred shortly after the highway was reopened.

FHP defended its decision to reopen the roadway, saying conditions were "favorable, meaning clear."

However, FHP will review the situation "to determine if we could’ve done things differently," Lt. Riordan said. "We believe our troopers did their due diligence to keep our highway safe while working alongside our safety partners."

In Saturday night's crash, a 2002 Lexus SUV wound up trapped underneath a Freightliner semi-truck. A passenger in the SUV, Willie Moss, 59, of Gainesville, was taken to Shands Hospital at the University of Florida in serious condition.

According to the FHP, the three vehicles involved were northbound in the center lane when the driver of the semi, Myron Allen, 59, of Cleveland Tenn., steered right to avoid a Toyota SUV driven by Andrew Kusel, 20, of Port St. Lucie.

Governor Rick Scott released the following statement regarding the I-75 crashes:

Following this weekend’s tragic automobile accident on Interstate 75 in Alachua County, I have asked the Florida Department of Law Enforcement to investigate the circumstances leading up to this incident. I will make available any and all resources from the Executive Office of the Governor, as well as any agency under my supervision, as needed. We will also fully cooperate with any federal investigation which may occur. During this tragic time, our thoughts and prayers should be with the victims and their families."