The truck driver, a 63-year-old
man, was killed Tuesday, July 28, after his tractor-trailer crashed into
the woods along I-75 in Sumter County. (PHOTO/Steve Gaskins of the
Florida Highway Patrol)Deadly tractor-trailer crash closes northbound I-75 near Wildwood
A 63-year-old truck driver from the Jacksonville area was killed Tuesday after his tractor-trailer crashed into the woods and caught fire along I-75 in Sumter County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The male driver, who is from Orange Park, was traveling northbound around 5:53 a.m.in the outside lane of the highway at mile marker 328, just south of Florida's Turnpike.
For an unknown reason, the tractor-trailer left the roadway and traveled onto the outside shoulder and then collided with trees.
The empty tractor-trailer erupted into flames after impact with the trees, the report states.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash closed the roadway, and all northbound traffic was diverted at Exit 321 (County Road 470).
The crash remains under investigation. The driver's identity is being withheld pending next of kin notification.