Four seriously injured in Monday I-75 collision near Clark Road

Updated 8:30 a.m. Tuesday, July 12

Four people were seriously injured Monday in a six-vehicle crash in Interstate 75 that snarled traffic for hours, the Florida Highway Patrol said. 

The crash, just north of Clark Road, prompted the closure of the highway's southbound lanes, forcing traffic off at Bee Ridge Road to reenter on the southbound on-ramp of I-75. 

Although identities of the injured and the details of the injuries were not made public, the FHP said the chain-reaction crash began when a tractor-trailer driven by a 34-year-old St. Petersburg man struck from behind a pickup truck that was stopped for traffic. The four other vehicles in the crash were also hit from behind by vehicles propelled forward following the initial impact. 

Charges are possible pending completion of the crash investigation. 

The driver of the pickup, whom FHP did not identify by gender, age or hometown, was among those seriously injured. A 58-year-old man from Sarasota was also seriously injured, as were a 79-year-old man from Sarasota and a 30-year-old Cape Coral man. 

The tractor-trailer driver received minor injuries, according to the FHP, along with the driver of the final vehicle in the collision, a 23-year-old man from Sarasota. 

Published 12:20 p.m. Monday, July 11

Traffic is snarled in both directions of Interstate 75 near Clark Road following a collision involving multiple vehicles including at least one tractor trailer.

Fire-rescue and law enforcement units were called to the scene around 10:26 a.m. near the point at which the southbound exit ramp begins for Clark Road.

All southbound traffic will be diverted to Bee Ridge Road and may re-enter the
Interstate at Clark Road, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Traffic is slow moving on the northbound side as well.

Florida Department of Transportation cameras show a tractor-trailer jacknifed partially on the median and numerous rescue vehicles nearby. All southbound lanes are blocked, and the Florida Highway Patrol says one northbound lane is also closed. 

There was no immediate word on injuries.