WASHINGTON - A three-vehicle crash involving a FedEx tractor-trailer on Tuesday killed three people with at least five injured in southeastern US state Florida, the authorities said.

The fatal crash happened at about 12:40 am in Osceola County, causing the south lanes of the Florida Turnpike to shut down, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) told local media.

Troopers said a Mitsubishi car with a flat tire was traveling slowly in the right lane while a Ford Explorer followed slowly behind the car. The FedEx tractor-trailer approached the Explorer at a normal speed, but the driver did not realize the two vehicles were driving at a slow speed.

The front end of the FedEx truck hit the rear of the Explorer and then the rear of the car, and the tractor-trailer jackknifed, FHP said, leaving three people in the Explorer killed and three others hospitalized. The driver of the Mitsubishi and the driver of the FedEx truck suffered minor injuries.

The names of those involved have not been released, said an ABC report.