COCOA, Fla. – A 16-year-old girl was killed and her 15-year-old passenger suffered minor injuries early Thursday in a rollover crash on State Road 520 in Cocoa, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The single-vehicle wreck happened around 3:40 a.m. on S.R. 520 near Cressa Circle.
The FHP the girl was driving a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan above the speed limit while eastbound on S.R. 520.
The girl lost control of the minivan, which traveled into the westbound lanes and overturned several times and struck a guardrail, according to an FHP crash report.
The driver, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.
The driver’s 15-year-old sister, who was wearing her seat belt, did not require a hospital evaluation and remained at the scene, according to the FHP crash report.
Brevard County Community Correspondent James Sparvero asked Lt. Channing Taylor if he thought the seatbelt saved her life.
“Absolutely, 100 percent,” Lt. Taylor answered. “We can look at that, and we can tell if you’re wearing it or not in one of these crashes, and she walked away from it, pretty much.”
All westbound lanes of S.R. 520 were closed at Cressa Circle, but they were reopened around 7:20 a.m.
The crash remains under investigation.
A business owner near the crash site told Sparvero how dangerous he thinks that part of 520 is.
“DOT should put a turning lane in there,” Paul Dean of Cocoa Kennels said.
Dean also offered his condolences to the loved ones of the young sisters.
“My prayers go out to the family and everybody,” he said. “It’s terrible.”
[VIDEO BELOW: Man clings to hood before Cocoa crash]