Three people were killed in a crash Wednesday afternoon on Interstate 75 that snarled traffic in Marion and Sumter counties.
The crash occurred at about 1 p.m. near Mile Marker 337 on northbound I-75.
The northbound lanes were closed for several hours due to “a large amount of debris, vehicles and burnt materials spread across all lanes,” according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 56-year-old Gainesville man had been driving a 2017 Subaru southbound on I-75 when his vehicle “came in contact” with a tractor trailer pulling a dump truck. The two vehicles traveled “south eastward through the center median guard rail, into the northbound lanes,” according to the FHP accident report.
Those two vehicles collided with northbound traffic, including a 2021 Ram 3500 truck pulling a gooseneck trailer. That truck was driven by a South Carolina man who died at the scene of the crash. His 19-year-old female passenger was seriously injured. She was transported by ambulance to Ocala Regional Medical Center. The Subaru and tractor trailer also hit a northbound 2022 Chevrolet SUV driven by a 40-year-old Pearland, Texas man, also killed in the crash. His SUV was engulfed in flames along with the tractor trailer truck, whose driver died at the scene. A positive identification of that driver had not been made by FHP.
The driver of the Subaru suffered serious injuries and was taken to UF Health-Leesburg Hospital.
Tied up in traffic
Numerous motorists were caught up in the traffic backup and described their dilemmas.
“I was heading to a doctor’s appointment in Ocala when we saw smoke ahead and brake lights. That was around 1:15. Had just got on the interstate at Exit 329. It is now 4:30 and my car has moved a total of maybe 20 feet. Looking over at 466 along the interstate and wishing I had a pickup truck because I’d go through the wire fence and head south,” said Jerry Haggerty of the Village of Lake Deaton.
Barry Killick of the Village of Bonnybrook was also among the many drivers searching for an escape exit.
“Every side road from The Villages to Ocala is full!” he reported from the road.
Another reader trapped in traffic shared a photo of traffic backed up on U.S. 301 all the way to PepperTree Plaza in Wildwood.
