FEBRUARY 18, 2015
CLEARWATER, FLORIDA
Southbound U.S. 19 in central Clearwater has been reopened
after this morning's tractor-trailer crash and fire. One northbound lane has
also been reopened.
Sometime before 6 a.m., a northbound semi rode up onto the
highway's construction zone center median wall near Harn Boulevard and caught
fire. The driver escaped without serious injury, and firefighters were able to
extinguish the fire.
The crash closed both sides of the busy highway between
Belleair Road and Drew Street just before the morning commute. Traffic was
directed in both directions, and motorists who hadn't left home were advised to
take an alternate route.
Officials opened the southbound lanes just before 10 a.m. It
wasn't immediately known when the rest of the northbound lanes would reopen.
Motorists heading north are advised to take the Bayside Bridge to the east or
Belcher Road or Keene Road to the west.
The driver of the truck, identified as Mike Manuel Leon
Rodriguez, 37, of Hialeah Gardens, has been cited for careless driving.