Motorcyclist dies in I-75 crash near Lakewood Ranch

Late Friday the Florida Highway Patrol still had not identified a motorcyclist killed earlier in the day when the cyclist went down at Mile Marker 216 near the State Road 70 exit at 6:30 a.m.

The FHP, which was attempting to contact the motorcyclist's family, said the Victory Vegas motorcycle braked for an unknown reason while traveling northbound, causing the motorcycle to go down. The driver's body went into another lane of traffic and was struck by three cars in the center lane. The motorcycle was struck was a car traveling behind it in the left lane.

The driver of the car following the motorcycle suffered minor injuries and none of the other drivers or passengers were hurt.

Traffic was snarled for hours during the Friday morning commute.