Wrecks on slick I-75 involve 13 vehicles

By Times staff writer

© St. Petersburg Times,
published June 6, 2001

VENICE -- A 13-vehicle series of accidents on Interstate 75 Tuesday afternoon injured as many as six people and shut down part of the highway for hours.

One witness said drivers were going too fast for the drizzly conditions on the highway. The chain-reaction accident occurred in the interstate's northbound lanes at the exit to Jacaranda Boulevard in Venice. The northbound lanes were closed for hours, snarling rush-hour traffic on Southwest Florida's major artery.

According to preliminary information from the scene, an initial accident occurred about 5:45 p.m. involving a dump truck and a pickup on the Jacaranda Boulevard overpass. Two vehicles driving under the overpass were struck by concrete from the first accident.

John Kosub, 35, of Gulfport said he was the first person to stop to help drivers from the first accident. He said Sarasota County sheriff's vehicles were next on the scene, and then several rescue vehicles arrived shortly after that.

A few minutes later, several accidents occurred as fast-moving traffic came upon stalled or slow-moving vehicles, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. One crash involved a semitrailer truck and several smaller vehicles.

Thunderstorms made the road wet and lessened visibility. Kosub said he saw drivers ignoring the conditions, whizzing by emergency vehicles that had stopped with their lights flashing.

Northbound traffic on the interstate was backed up as it was detoured at the River Road exit, about 2 miles east of the accident. Traffic was detoured south onto Venice Avenue, then back onto I-75, adding several slow miles to the drive.

The FHP was still gathering information about the crashes late Tuesday. Troopers were not sure when the road would reopen, but they expected to reopen the interstate by late Tuesday.

- The Sarasota Herald-Tribune contributed to this report.

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