MIAMI SHORES, Fla. – A group of Boy Scouts from South Florida survived a fiery crash Saturday morning on Florida's Turnpike in Okeechobee County.
Authorities said the collision occurred just before noon in the southbound lanes of the highway near the Fort Drum Plaza as Troop 305 from Saint Rose of Lima in Miami Shores was heading home from a camping trip.
A father is thankful to have his son home after the scare.
"I was destroyed. I just started crying right then," said James Joyce, whose 17-year-old son was injured in the crash.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said a cargo truck hauling produce collided with a car that was towing a trailer.
Joyce said his son was riding in the car, along with another Scout and a scoutmaster.
"He was sleeping in the backseat and he woke up to this horrific accident," Joyce said. "When I saw the flames, (I thought) my son's supposed
The crash was so violent, Joyce said, that his son was knocked unconscious and had to be pulled out by a good Samaritan and another Scout who was following behind in another car.
"He jumped out of the car and pulled my son out and pulled the driver out, and the lady (saw) all this and she helped," Joyce said. "And I guess my son was upset. He called me. Everything burned up -- his cellphone, all their clothes, all the Boy Scout equipment. Everything is gone."
The teen survived the wreck, as did the car's other two passengers.
Another car carrying five other Scouts from the same troop was not hit, authorities said.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
"The driver could have killed my son," Joyce said. "Whether it was an accident or whatever. My son could have been dead this morning."