Crash involving tow truck 09.22.20 (FL)

[TowNews]

17-year-old passenger dies in I-75 crash involving tow truck

 

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LUTZ, Fla. - A teenager passed away after a crash along Interstate 75 Monday night.

 

Florida Highway Patrol troopers said a 17-year-old driver was heading north on I-75, south of State Road 56 in the outside lane. Meanwhile, a tow truck, was parked with its hazard lights activated in the same lane.

 

Troopers said the AAA tow truck driver was changing a tire for a van, which was parked in the outside shoulder. Both the van and tow truck were unoccupied during this time.

 

The teen driver "failed to discern" the parked tow truck, and struck the left rear of the vehicle.

 

Investigators said the impact caused the tow truck to slightly rotate, and strike the tow truck operator, a 36-year-old man.

 

The 17-year-old driver had two passengers in the vehicle, a 17-year-old and 16-year-old. All were wearing seatbelts, troopers said. 

 

The 17-year-old passenger was taken to a nearby hospital where he died from his injuries. The 16-year-old passenger had serious injuries, troopers said, but they are not life-threatening.

 

Both drivers involved had minor injuries. 

 

Troopers said charges are pending against the teen driver.

 

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Girl, 17, killed when pickup hits tow truck parked along I-75 in Pasco

 

Three others were injured when the 17-year-old boy driving the pickup failed to see the tow truck stopped to help a motorist in Wesley Chapel.

 

WESLEY CHAPEL — A 17-year-old Marion County girl died when the pickup truck she was riding in slammed into a tow truck that had stopped to help a motorist, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The collision occurred about 11:35 p.m. Monday at Interstate 75 and State Road 56 in Wesley Chapel.

The pickup driver was heading north on I-75 in the outside lane when he failed to see the tow truck, the Highway Patrol said. The tow truck had its flashing yellow lights activated as the driver helped a van driver change a tire.

The right front of the pickup struck the left rear of the tow truck, causing the tow truck to spin and strike its operator.

The girl killed in the crash, from the Marion County community of Summerfield, was a passenger in the pickup. Another passenger, a 16-year-old Summerfield boy, received serious injuries. The pickup driver, 17, also of Summerfield, received minor injuries.

All three were wearing seatbelts.

The tow truck driver, a 36-year-old Zephyrhills man, received minor injuries.

The Highway Patrol did not release the names of those involved in the collision because of its interpretation of Marsy’s Law, a constitutional amendment passed by voters in 2018 that was meant to protect crime victims but deprives the public of information that had long been made available under the state’s public records law.

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