49.9 F
Ocala
Friday, March 29, 2024

Two killed when van slams into semi-truck hauling rebar on Interstate 75

Two people were killed and a third person was critically injured Tuesday night when a van slammed into a semi-truck hauling rebar on Interstate 75 in Marion County.

Crews from Ocala Fire Rescue were called to a fatal crash involving a van and a semi-truck on Interstate 75 on Tuesday night.

The crash took place shortly before 8:30 p.m. in the southbound lanes of the interstate near U.S. Hwy. 27. It happened when the van, driven by a man from Leola, Pa., collided into the rebar that was hanging off the back of the semi-trailer. The rebar went through the windshield of the van and the two vehicles became stuck together, a Florida Highway Patrol report states.

The crash also left an 80-year-old woman who was riding in the van dead and an 82-year-old man, also a passenger, in critical condition. They also were from Leola, Pa. The 49-year-old driver of the semi, who is from Anthony, wasn’t injured, according to the FHP report.

After the crash, both vehicles came to rest on the west shoulder of I-75 facing south. The southbound lanes were shut down just north of U.S. Hwy. 27 and the incident remains under investigation.