A mother who was distracted by her children caused a crash that snarled traffic on Interstate 75 in Sumter County.
Jacqueline Pedraza, 19, of Pearson, Ga., had been driving a maroon 2010 Nissan Sentra at 1:34 p.m. Saturday southbound at Mile Marker 323 on I-75 when she was momentarily distracted by her children in the back seat, according to an accident report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
When Pedraza turned her attention forward, she realized that other traffic was stopped and she attempted to avoid a collision by braking and steering left.
Her vehicle collided with a trailer towed by a semi driven by 59-year-old Jeffrey Allan Cork, of Yulee. The impact caused Pedraza’s vehicle to spin out and come to a rest on the inside shoulder. The vehicle’s airbag deployed as a result of the crash.
Pedraza and three passengers, 22-year-old Yuri David Roldan, 1-year-old Joshua Isaias Roldan, and infant Jaylin Roldan, were all transported by ambulance to Leesburg Regional Medical Center.
Pedraza was ticketed on a charge of careless driving.
