Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a crash on I-75 from Thursday that left seven people dead. A tractor trailer and a passenger vehicle traveling north collided and went through a guardrail into the southbound lanes. They struck a passenger van and another tractor trailer on the southbound side.
The five-vehicle accident caused 50 gallons of spilled diesel fuel and spurred a fire so intense, it damaged the roadway. FHP spokesman Lieutenant Pat Riordan said the agency is working towards a speedy investigation. “This sounds early on but they can start having some closure as quickly as quickly as we can do what we are going to do to let them understand what transpired yesterday.”
FHP and Florida Department of Transportation are investigating road safety, as well. Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson Troy Roberts says the guardrail design will be investigated after debris clean-up. "Anytime we have a crash on any of our roadways we look at the road to make sure it didn’t contribute crash."
I-75 Northbound lanes have re-opened and one Southbound lane remains closed.