A Mississippi man was killed in an accident early Tuesday after traffic lights were inoperable due to Hurricane Irma in a Marion County intersection.
At 3:20 a.m. the unidentified 59-year-old from Coffeeville, Miss. was driving a 2011 Ford F-250 south on U.S. 301 in the outside lane approaching the intersection with SE 132nd Street Road, where traffic signals were inoperable due to Hurricane Irma, according to a Florida Highway Patrol accident report.
Tommy E. Ratton, 30, of Lake Alfred was driving west on SE 132nd Street Road approaching the intersection with U.S. 301 in a Peterbilt truck towing a trailer, when both drivers failed to come to complete stops, causing the Mississippi man’s vehicle to collide with Ratton’s attached trailer’s right side. The unidentified man’s vehicle became entangled under Ratton’s trailer as it rotated clockwise across the grassy median, coming to final rest after the vehicle was released from under the trailer during the rotation.
The unidentified driver was pronounced dead at 3:33 a.m. on the scene.
