Car crashes through crowded Florida beach, injures 4 people

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Four people, including a 3-year-old child, were injured when a car crashed through an unoccupied toll booth and ended up in the Atlantic Ocean, officials said.

The crash happened just before 5 p.m. Sunday along Daytona Beach, where vehicles are allowed on the sand.

The car crashed through the International Speedway Boulevard beach approach before slicing through the crowded beach and ending up in the water, Volusia County Beach Safety officials told news outlets.

“When it was about to hit the water, about 15 people jumped out. They were in the water, jumped out of the way and I mean, the vehicle just hit the water hard,” witness Jack Lofland told WESH.

Frantic 911 callers told the dispatcher the car was in the ocean.

An investigation was continuing late Sunday, Ocean Rescue Deputy Chief Tamra Malphurs said.

The child was taken to a hospital in Daytona Beach and then airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, the Daytona Beach News-Journal reported. The vehicle’s driver was also taken to the hospital as a trauma alert, the report said.