SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – A fatal three-vehicle crash shut down part of State Road 471 in Sumter County for hours on Sunday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred around 9 a.m. at S.R. 471 and State Road 50, troopers said.
According to a preliminary FHP crash report, a Ford Expedition traveling westbound on S.R. 50 ran a red light at the roadway’s intersection with S.R. 471, striking the right side of a Kenworth tractor-trailer that was transporting milk north on S.R. 471. The impact redirected both vehicles northwest into the southbound lanes of S.R. 471, where the tractor-trailer struck a Harley Davidson motorcycle that was traveling southbound on S.R. 471 in a left turn lane, the report states.
The motorcyclist — identified as a 70-year-old Lakeland man — was killed in the crash while the 58-year-old North Port man driving the tractor-trailer suffered minor injuries and the 69-year-old Winter Garden man driving the Ford was airlifted to an area hospital for treatment of serious injuries, troopers said.
The milk-hauling trailer overturned as the truck came to final rest along the shoulder, spilling what troopers described as “scores of gallons” of gasoline on the roadway.
As of 5:30 p.m. all lanes of S.R. 471 and S.R. 50 have reopened.
No further details were shared or confirmed at the time of this report.
Note: This map depicts the general area of this crash and not necessarily its exact location.
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