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Interstate 75 pileup leads to massive traffic tangle

A six-vehicle chain-reaction crash in Tampa forces a shutdown of the interstate, leading to paralysis on two major alternate routes.

By SHANNON COLAVECCHIO-VAN SICKLER and MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published January 22, 2005

[Times photo: Mike Pease] With traffic stalled at County Line Road and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, Ryan Wiseman passes the time.

TAMPA - Fog, smoke and careless driving made for a maddening combination early Friday, when a semitrailer truck driver set off a messy six-car pileup on Interstate 75 that trapped commuters in New Tampa for hours.

The crash on I-75 south of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard forced law enforcement officials to shut down the highway, one of the few ways in and out of Pasco County and New Tampa.

Before long, the alternate route of County Line Road - the dividing line between Hillsborough and Pasco that runs perpendicular to Bruce B. Downs and I-75 - was jammed with cars that moved like molasses, if at all.

It took Belinda Pope 90 minutes to travel 20 feet on County Line Road, which she uses to get to work at Sand Pine Elementary School.

"We're trapped," she said. "I'm glad I have a full tank of gas and I don't have to go to the bathroom."

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, at 6:02 a.m., semi driver Stefan Djuro, 48, of St. Petersburg was driving south in the inside lane of I-75 behind four vehicles, including a van and two other semitrailer trucks. A fourth semi was in the outside southbound lane.

Visibility was poor because of early morning fog and smoke left over from a recent controlled burn at I-75 and Bruce B. Downs, so most vehicles were moving slowly, said FHP shift commander Lt. David Apgar. One semi driver, Gregory P. Koehler, pulled over onto the median. The other vehicles - all ahead of Djuro's semi - slowed down for traffic ahead. But Djuro didn't slow down, according to the FHP.

He hit the back of a 1991 GMC van driven by David A. Bailey, 38, of Darby. The van hit Land O'Lakes resident Roger W. Mosley's 2001 Chevrolet truck, then spun into the outside lane and into the path of semi driver Desmond Campbell, 31, of Texas.

Meanwhile, Mosley spun and sideswiped the back of Djuro's semi before hitting the guardrail, according to the FHP report. Djuro's semi continued south and hit the back of a semitrailer truck driven by Christopher C. Clapp, 46, of Daytona Beach.

Clapp's semi veered into the median and rolled onto its left side before hitting the back of the semi driven by Koehler, 41, of Spring Hill.

Clapp was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he remained in fair condition following surgery, said hospital spokesman Will Darnall. Djuro went to University Community Hospital with minor injuries. The other drivers weren't injured, according to the FHP.

"It wasn't a real bad accident as far as injuries, but we just had so many cars involved," Apgar said. "That guy (Djuro) just came through and whacked everybody."

FHP troopers cited Djuro for failing to drive with due care through the smoke and fog.

Traffic had not been this nightmarish in New Tampa since September, when Hurricane Frances dumped 10 inches of rain and flooded Bruce B. Downs Boulevard and Morris Bridge Road.

Frazzled motorists stranded Friday on County Line Road and Bruce B. Downs Boulevard grumbled that this was far worse than the flooding.

Chris Williams, a 23-year-old contractor, was late for a job at the Live Oak Preserve subdivision a mile away. He ran out of gas on County Line Road because he was stuck in traffic so long. So he walked 15 minutes to fill up a plastic container with gas.

Some made the most of the delay by getting some work done. Lars Krier, a 48-year-old real estate agent, took notes while reading Florida Real Estate Principles, Practices & Law.

"It's real exciting," he said, laughing.

Other motorists called their bosses to explain why they were late.

"My boss was very gracious when I called him an hour ago to tell him," said Laura Budz, who works at a child care center. "But I'm going to have to call him again, because that was an hour ago. I haven't moved since."

Tempers flared. One woman driving a Corvette cut off Larry Birge, who was driving an 18-wheeler. He shrugged when she got out of her car and made an obscene gesture at him.

"People are getting fed up out here," Birge said moments later.

In Pasco County, 39 elementary school buses arrived 40 to 60 minutes late because of the traffic jam.

Construction workers Ken Hankins and his nephew, Josh Hankins, tried to stay in good spirits by listening to the radio, talking and smoking.

But they complained that New Tampa's roads needed improving. As with September's hurricane, Friday's crash showed how the lack of a grid system makes New Tampa's road network vulnerable to a crisis.

With the southbound lanes of Bruce B. Downs closed in Hillsborough County, the 65,000 motorists who use that section had to find an alternate route, which is hard to do because there aren't many.

"Hillsborough, Pasco, Tampa - they're just not keeping up with the growth," Ken Hankins said. "It's only going to get worse."

Times staff writer Jamal Thalji contributed to this report.

[Last modified January 22, 2005, 04:45:18]