FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. _ Authorities were searching for a baby who was missing from a car that veered off the road and flipped over in a grassy area off Alligator Alley west of Broward County.
A blown tire may have caused the crash, Florida Highway Patrol told local TV news stations. The car was traveling east on Interstate 75 at the time of the crash, FHP said.
Police and rescue personnel, including a dive team, were searching for the 1-year-old near Mile Marker 28, just west of Weston and U.S. 27, where the baby may have been ejected from the car about 4:30 p.m. Several others were also injured in the crash.
Broward Sheriff's Office Fire Rescue told WPLG-TV that the marshy area was complicating the search.
"We have a small window of opportunity to locate this child," Chief Michael Kane told WPLG. "It's a race against time."
The eastbound lanes of Alligator Alley were closed before the U.S. 27 interchange, which affected drivers coming from West Broward and the west coast, including Collier and Lee counties. Authorities asked drivers to avoid the area.
