A car crash stopped traffic on U.S. 1. Then a vehicle caught fire

A car crash in the Lower Keys closed the entire road at a section of U.S. 1 for about one hour the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office said.

Then, not long after the road opened after the crash, a vehicle fire near mile marker 9 further delayed traffic as the southbound lanes were closed.

All lanes were open by about 3 p.m. Some drivers were stuck on the highway for up to two hours.

Police said there were “serious injuries” as a result of the crash, which was reported at about 1:30 p.m. Wednesday. Few details about the vehicle fire had been released by 4 p.m.

After the crash, a full roadblock had been set up at mile marker 12.8 on the Saddlebunch Keys but by 2:15 p.m. police reported that the southbound lane was open.

The injured were airlifted by Trauma Star on Sugarloaf Key.

“Expect lengthy delays,” the sheriff’s office said in an alert message after the crash was reported. “Avoid U.S. 1 if possible.”

“How the heck do you avoid U.S. 1?” a Facebook user posted on the sheriff’s page in response to the suggestion to avoid the Overseas Highway.

U.S. 1 is the only road in and out of the Florida Keys.

This story was originally published May 22, 2019 at 2:02 PM with the headline "A car crash stopped traffic on U.S. 1. Then a vehicle caught fire."