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3 girls killed in Florida crash; child survives ejection over 25-foot wall

TITUSVILLE, Fla. -- The Florida Highway Patrol says three girls were killed and eight people were injured in a single-vehicle wreck on Interstate 95.

The highway patrol says the crash happened around 6:40 p.m. Monday in Titusville, about 40 miles east of Orlando.

Steven Montiero, a spokesman for the patrol, says a preliminary investigation shows a front tire may have malfunctioned, causing the SUV to flip.

"We're talking 11 people inside of an SUV," Monteiro told CBS affiliate WKMG in Orlando. "I don't know any SUV that fits 11 people inside of it, and were going to begin to figure this out."

He says three girls were pronounced dead at the scene and eight others were taken to a hospital. He says the people inside were family and friends. They weren't immediately identified.

Among those injured was a child who Montiero says was ejected over a 25-foot perimeter fence. He says rescuers heard the child crying.

"We determined that obviously the child was not on this side of the interstate, and to our surprise, it was actually on the other side of the barrier wall," Monterio said. "(The child) was ejected on that side. We located the child, (who) was alive and transported."

Montiero says it's clear at least some people weren't wearing seatbelts.

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