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Ocala
Friday, March 29, 2024

Ocala man killed when cement mixer overturns on Interstate 75

A 58-year-old Ocala man was killed early Monday afternoon when his cement truck overturned on Interstate 75 and was struck by another vehicle.

Michael W. Morris was pronounced dead at the scene of the 1:15 p.m. crash near Mike Marker 359 in Marion County. He was driving southbound on the interstate in a 2006 Kenworth cement truck when he suddenly veered left into the median and collided with a guardrail, a Florida Highway Patrol report states.

Morris’ truck overturned on its right side in the southbound lanes and the roof and tank portion of the cement mixer were then hit by a 2015 Honda CRV driven by 69-year-old Julie P. Fairbrother, of Americus, Ga., who received minor injuries and was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center, the report says.

A 2006 Ford pickup driven by 55-year-old Marvin T. Wheelock, of Austell, Ga., and a 2017 Freightliner semi-truck driven by 45-year-old Floyd B. Franklin, of Lawrenceville, Ga., veered to the right when the cement mixer overturned and were able to avoid the crash.

Neither of those drivers, nor Wheelock’s passenger, 28-year-old DeMarco Taylor, also of Austell, Ga., were injured, the report says.