SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – A 19-year-old Tampa man driving a car through Sumter County on Interstate 75 died upon crashing into a semi-tractor early Sunday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened around 5:18 a.m. along southbound I-75 near milepost 321, in Lake Panasoffkee, troopers said.
According to a statement from FHP, the man was driving a Honda Accord behind a semi-tractor with no trailer when the semi-tractor’s driver — a 35-year-old Rhode Island man — experienced mechanical issues and stopped along the emergency shoulder.
For unknown reasons, the man driving the Honda then entered the shoulder as well and struck the semi-tractor, the statement reads.
The Tampa man died at the scene of the crash while the Rhode Island man suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to a hospital, troopers said.