Car crashes through toll booth on Daytona Beach, injuring several including a child

• A dramatic crash occurred on Florida’s Daytona Beach.
• The driver of a car lost control, crashed into a toll booth and ended up in the ocean.
• Five people were injured in the shocking incident.

A crash on the beach sparked panic among beach goers. A car carrying a family crashed into an unoccupied toll booth in Florida on Sunday, July 24, and ended up in the Atlantic Ocean after the driver apparently had a seizure, witnesses said.

The white Nissan Altima destroyed a toll booth, continued across the beach and ended up in the ocean shortly before 5 p.m. on Daytona Beach, which was packed with families, Volusia County beach safety officials said, according to a report from the New York Post this Monday.

Beach crash leaves five injured

«(The car) was going like 40 miles per hour, and it obliterated the toll booth and came barreling all the way through,» swimmer Nicole Mathis told the local outlet ClickOrlando. «People were dodging left and right to get out of the way,» added the witness.

Five people were injured, including a 3-year-old boy who was in the water and was struck by the vehicle. The boy was taken to a local hospital and later flown to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando, where authorities said he was in stable condition.

The driver suffered a medical emergency while driving

Witnesses also commented that the driver suffered a medical emergency and lost consciousness while driving the car in which he was traveling with his wife and two stepdaughters. A good Samaritans dove into the water and worked together to push the vehicle out of the waves and the terrified occupants to safety.

Nicole Mathis said that she and the others were able to remove two girls sitting in the back of the car and their mother who was sitting in the passenger seat. The driver was initially unconscious, but eventually he came to and first aid was administered by first responders, the Post reported.

The driver’s dramatic comment before the crash on the beach (click on the image to see the video)

The witness added that he learned from the frightened girls that, just before the accident, her stepfather, who was not identified, told them that he was going to have a seizure. After the accident, the driver was hospitalized, but there was no immediate news about his condition, the Post reported.

The Sun reported that a there is video of the chaos at the scene where a woman was heard screaming: «My baby, my baby.» Another witness identified as Richie DeLagarza told Spectrum News: “I was standing right beside it, buddy. I was standing right beside it. It took off straight beside us. It was a good 80 to 90 miles per hour. It didn’t slow down. Everybody was running like something serious had happened.»

When does beach access reopen?

“I heard a giant crash. I mean, I thought it was a firework that exploded or that something bad had just happened,» Jake Lofland told Click Orlando, also quoted by The Sun, referring to the impact on the toll both, which did not stop the vehicle.

According to an incident report from Volusia County Beach Safety, a woman in the car tried to take the driver’s foot off the gas but was only able to avoid other traffic during the incident. A new toll booth arrived on the beach Monday morning and officials said they expected access to open today, but later. The investigation of the case is ongoing, Click Orlando noted.