Two Treasure Coast women died in a single vehicle crash in rural St. Lucie County.
A 2025 Nissan Sentra was found in the C-24 canal on route 68 near the Okeechobee County line on Tuesday morning by South Florida Water Management District workers.
They observed damage to a guardrail on the northside of the road, and noticed a portion of the vehicle at the surface of the canal.
St. Lucie and Okeechobee County deputies provided traffic control and the Florida Highway Patrol investigated the crash.
The victims were a 28-year-old woman from Vero Beach and a 21 year old woman from Fort Pierce.
The trooper found the vehicle was west bound, veered off the north shoulder and struck the guardrail, then re-entered the road, traveled across route 68, struck another guardrail on the south side of the road and landed in the canal.
The report did not state how long the vehicle was in the canal.
Congressman Brian Mast asked the USACOE to further protect Lake Okeechobee with stricter water standards entering and leaving the lake.
Rep. Mast made the remarks at the Transportation and Infrastructure subcommittee hearing.
He spoke with Lt. General William “Butch” Graham as they reviewed in the impacts of the 2024 Water Resource Development Act.
Mast also wants to protect Army personnel who breathe in what he calls toxic algae blooms at Port Mayaca.
The state of Florida executed 64-year-old Victor Jones last night for a double murder in Miami-Dade County.
He is one of three people executed in Florida who once attended the Okeechobee School for Boys.
Jones was one of the men who received checks from the state of Florida last year for reparations for abuse he said he suffered at the school. He was at the school on four different sentences in the 1970s.
Port St. Lucie Commissioners are wanting growth to slow down on the residential side. They rejected a proposed rezoning of 464 acres located near Glades Cut Off Road and the C-24 canal.
They cited concerns about rapid residential expansion and adding more rooftops.
Mayor Shannon Martin said she would love to push a button and take a pause and wait until they can get more infrastructure in before building more homes.
“I’ve not been happy with the discussions. I am not in favor of adding more rooftops in this location especially.”
Two homeless men face burglary charges for allegedly breaking out the window to a smoke shop in Okeechobee.
The business at 1705 South Parrott Avenue has been hit twice in the same manner in the past month, city police said.
The arrest reports said Okeechobee police detectives learned from a store employee about two customers they suspected of committing the thefts.
Cole Dibiase was interviewed and confessed to a burglary on Sept. 24, the report said.
Robert Miller, 25, of Indiantown, was also charged with burglary.
The report said bottle of Kratom, a smoke pipe and weed trays were taken in the burglary.