Two critically injured in I-75 crash after driver tried to avoid hitting box that fell off pickup truck
Staff report
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Two Gainesville residents and one Virginia resident were injured this morning when a driver trying to avoid hitting a box that fell off a pickup truck onto I-75 swerved onto the shoulder and hit a tree.
According to a release from the Florida Highway Patrol, at about 10:24 a.m., a large box containing an A/C coil fell off a pickup truck that was traveling northbound near mile marker 393 on I-75 and landed in the center lane. A sedan driven by a 25-year-old Gainesville man swerved right to avoid hitting the box, crossed onto the east shoulder, and hit a tree. The driver was seriously injured.
A 23-year-old Gainesville woman and a 26-year-old man from Norfolk, VA, who were passengers in the car, suffered critical injuries. The driver of the pickup truck, a 57-year-old Gainesville man, was uninjured. All three of the sedan’s passengers were wearing seatbelts.
According to a release from Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR), their crews responded to the crash, along with Alachua County Sheriff’s Office, Florida Highway Patrol, and a ShandsCair helicopter.
An ACFR crew completed a technical extrication of an entrapped occupant of the sedan using the “Jaws of Life” and other specialized extrication tools, and one patient was flown to a local trauma center by the ShandsCair flight team; the other two occupants of the sedan were transported by ambulance by ACFR.
Praying for the injured. This is sad.
Thanks to the nurses who administered life saving help before the authorities arrived.
Thankful for all the first responders, doctors, surgeons, and nurses who helped with this today. Praying for all those involved to have a full and speedy recovery. So blessed to have Shands and wonderful first responders in this area.
Any info on the truck driver who failed to secure a load ?
This! I just finished telling my husband there should be a law about how high and the must be a tailgate…. He having been a truck driver told me there are laws regarding securement of a load but he didn’t know if it went beyond the commercial trucks.
People need to stop speeding, tailgating, and allow enough breaking distance for themselves to avoid things like this…
People with stuff in the back of their pick- up trucks or pulling trailers need to secure their cargo too!
This accident never would have happened if the guy in the pickup had some straps and tied down his load.
Also if you have a bigger load, take 440 NOT the interstate.
Someone’s going to get their a$$ sued off and it is appropriate.