Update: Four-Car Crash Kills Melbourne Driver
By Space Coast Daily // March 21, 2013
Two Others Injured In Accident
BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – A four-car crash in Melbourne late Wednesday afternoon killed a man and sent two others to area hospitals while snarling rush-hour traffic.
Sgt. Kim Montes of the Florida Highway Patrol said the fatal accident happened about 4:57 p.m. Wednesday at the intersection of Wickham Road and the Pineda Causeway in Melbourne.
Montes said a 1998 Honda Prelude driven by John Wheeler of Melbourne, 46, was traveling south on Wickham Road nearing the Pineda Causeway intersection.
At the same time, a 2011 Kia driven by Louis Zellano of Albany, N.Y., 73, was also headed south on Wickham Road near the Pineda Causeway intersection in an adjacent lane to the Prelude.
Montes said for some unknown reason, Wheeler sideswiped Zellano’s Kia and the vehicle then crossed the center-raised median and continued into the path of a 2010 Buick driven by Cynthia Anelli of Melbourne, 42.
The Prelude struck the front of Anelli’s Buick, causing the car to rotate into the northbound lanes and where it struck a 2003 Toyota Camry driven by Jorge Viera of Melbourne, 46.
Montes said Wheeler was killed in the crash.
Anelli was transported to Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne for treatment and Viera was taken to Viera Hospital for injuries he sustained in the accident.
Zellano was not hurt.
Traffic headed north in the area on Wickham Road was forced to detour onto the Pineda Causeway for hours Wednesday evening while troopers investigated the accident scene. The road has now re-opened.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by FHP troopers.
