One person received serious injuries and several others received minor injuries after a pickup truck attempted to pass another vehicle on I-75, causing both to crash into a disabled semi-truck being worked on by a mechanic.
The accident took place on Interstate 75 in Alachua County, near the County Road 241 overpass, on Sunday, April 28 at around 3:25 p.m.
According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, a 43-year-old Orlando man was driving a 2019 Chevrolet 3500 southbound on I-75, in the center lane.
The man attempted to pass a 2014 Chevrolet Suburban that was pulling a car hauler trailer when the left side of his vehicle struck the right side of the trailer.
After striking the trailer, both the pickup truck and SUV traveled in a westerly direction until they struck a 2016 Volvo semi-truck that was disabled in the southbound emergency lane of I-75.
The semi-truck and its attached 2021 Wabash trailer were hit and rear-ended, causing the truck to move slightly forward and strike a mechanic who was working on the vehicle’s battery.
The driver of the pickup truck and his passenger, a 40-year-old Orlando man, received minor injuries in the accident.
The accident report shows that the driver of the SUV, a 27-year-old man from Kenner, Louisiana, and two passengers in the vehicle (a 21-year-old woman and 1-year-old baby), also received minor injuries in the crash.
One passenger in the SUV, a 40-year-old woman, was seriously injured in the crash. All three females in the SUV were also from Kenner, Louisiana.
The mechanic who was working on the disabled truck, a 35-year-old man from Lake Butler, also received minor injuries in the accident.
The driver of the disabled semi-truck, a 37-year-old Miami man, and his passenger, a 24-year-old woman from Miami, were not injured in the crash.
Florida Highway Patrol says that charges are pending and the investigation into the incident is ongoing.