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Most dangerous road in America identified

newsfinale.com 2024/10/6
America's deadliest mile of road revealed

The most dangerous mile of highway in the entire U.S. has been revealed – and it’s more than 50 times deadlier than the national average.

Elk & Elk personal injury law firm’s research highlighted a particularly alarming stretch of Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Between 2010 and 2019, 24 individuals lost their lives in 23 fatal car accidents along this specific segment.

The analysis indicated that while the average highway records approximately 0.0083 deaths per mile, this one-mile section in Fort Lauderdale stands out with an average of 0.479 fatalities.

‘Traveling at 60 miles per hour through this area, you would encounter the site of a fatal crash every 2.6 seconds,’ a collaborative study conducted with 1Point21 Interactive digital agency disclosed.

Highway I-95 is the main north-south route on the East Coast, running nearly 2,000 miles from the Maine-Canada border all the way down to Miami. 

An overhead view of the deadliest mile of road in the US, which is a heartbeat away from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport
An overhead view of the deadliest mile of road in the US, which is a heartbeat away from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport

The treacherous segment of I-95 is between Marina Mile Blvd (State Road 84) and I-595, both of which run east to west.

Many of the most horrible accidents involve drivers exiting onto the ramp of Marina Mile Blvd at high rates of speed, unaware of the sharp 90 degree turn ahead of them.

The study also blames the complexity of the interchanges in this area for the shocking number of fatalities.

One of the most recent tragedies in this vicinity was a six-car chain reaction crash in February that claimed the life of a 23-year-old woman named Yanaisa Pulido.

Pictured: The aftermath of a pileup involving six cars traveling on the southbound side of I-95 through Fort Lauderdale in February 2024
Pictured: The aftermath of a pileup involving six cars traveling on the southbound side of I-95 through Fort Lauderdale in February 2024
Pictured: Yanaisa Pulido, 23, was killed at the scene of the crash after she got out of her own car intending to help other victims
Pictured: Yanaisa Pulido, 23, was killed at the scene of the crash after she got out of her own car intending to help other victims
Pulido, center, pictured with her fellow firefighters in the Hialeah Fire Department. She was also a trained EMT
Pulido, center, pictured with her fellow firefighters in the Hialeah Fire Department. She was also a trained EMT

A driver of a red Kia Forte traveling south on I-95 near Marina Mile Blvd lost control and hit the concrete median, causing a black Mercedes-Benz SUV to strike it from behind, WSVN reported.

Driving close behind in her black Kia Forte, Pulido stopped off to render aid since she was a trained EMT and a former cadet in the Hialeah Fire Department. 

Pulido was struck by a silver Cadillac ATS before she could help the injured and was later pronounced dead at the scene.

Three others suffered major injuries, including a seven-year-old.

Months before this in November 2023, a Nissan Altima crashed into the back of a tractor trailer sending it careening into the center median where it flipped over and burst into flames. 

The driver of the tractor trailer died, while the woman behind the wheel of the Nissan survived the wreckage, WPTV reported.

Pictured: The deadliest mile in the U.S. is a stretch of Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that sees 50 times more fatal car crashes than the average highway
Pictured: The deadliest mile in the U.S. is a stretch of Interstate 95 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, that sees 50 times more fatal car crashes than the average highway
Pictured: The fatal tractor trailer crash on northbound I-95 in Fort Lauderdale in November 2023
Pictured: The fatal tractor trailer crash on northbound I-95 in Fort Lauderdale in November 2023

In May 2021, there were two serious, non-fatal accidents within two days of each other where drivers lost control and plunged twenty feet off Marina Mile Blvd’s entrance ramp to I-95.

One car fell and landed upside down, WSVN reported.

Two pedestrians have also been killed within the deadly one-mile stretch this year, with one woman falling off an overpass and getting struck by multiple cars in May.

Just last week, a Cadillac SUV hit and killed a 43-year-old black man crossing an I-95 exit ramp.

To cut down on the fatalities, Florida officials have long planned to add ‘speed warning signs with flashing beacons’ among other safety measures as part of an interstate improvement project. 

Although the Federal Highway Administration allocates funds to improve interstate highways, individual states are in charge of maintaining the portions of road within their borders.

DailyMail.com approached the Florida Department of Transportation to see what, if any, accident mitigation strategies have been pursued.

The tragic scene where a Cadillac SUV hit and killed a 43-year-old black man crossing an I-95 exit ramp in Fort Lauderdale on June 27
The tragic scene where a Cadillac SUV hit and killed a 43-year-old black man crossing an I-95 exit ramp in Fort Lauderdale on June 27
After the driver lost control and broke through the median, this Cadillac SUV plummeted 20 feet off Marina Mile Blvd's entrance ramp to I-95 in May 2021
After the driver lost control and broke through the median, this Cadillac SUV plummeted 20 feet off Marina Mile Blvd’s entrance ramp to I-95 in May 2021
This car fell off the same exact spot as the Cadillac a mere two days later
This car fell off the same exact spot as the Cadillac a mere two days later
This angle shows the terrifyingly high drop the driver of this car faced
This angle shows the terrifyingly high drop the driver of this car faced

The study also examined the deadliest 10-mile stretches of road in the US, concluding that Houston and Dallas are some of the most hazardous for drivers.

Houston takes the number one spot with Interstate 45. Between exits 49B and 60A, there have been 148 deaths between 2000 and 2019.

Over the same time period, five separate stretches of interstate highways in Dallas killed a staggering 639 people over that same time period.

A separate analysis from Consumer Affairs confirmed that Texas is the most perilous state for motorists, with nearly 4,500 people dying in car wrecks in 2021 alone.

California, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina rounded out the top five least safe states. 

Even though car crashes can happen anywhere, experts urge people to drive slower and without distractions especially in urban areas, where there is more traffic and more complicated on and off ramps.

‘On America’s deadliest stretches of road, a little extra speed can make the difference between life and death,’ the authors of the study warned. 

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