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Subscribe to RSSAn I-75 multi-vehicle crash involved more than 45 vehicles near Sarasota, Fla. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
As many as 47 vehicles were involved in multiple crashes on a stretch of southbound Interstate 75 Friday, leaving mangled heaps of wreckage strewn along the Manatee and Sarasota county line, according to the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office.
At least 52 people were taken to area hospitals, including three who were airlifted from the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. There were no immediate reports of fatalities, authorities said.
A steady rain was falling at the time of the crash, which occurred after 3 p.m., the Herald-Tribune reported.
"It was confusing, a lot of cars, a lot of rain,” motorist Julio Olmedo told the newspaper.
David Wagle, 57, said he was driving in the middle lane when he spotted a truck ahead lose control, the trailer jackknifing to the right, it said.
"For a minute, nonstop, you could hear crash after crash," he said.
Wagle said he escaped injury after his white Ford truck slammed into a ditch, narrowly missing a row of trees.
"My truck doesn't have a scratch," he said. "Every car literally around is smashed."
Authorities said I-75 was expected to be closed for hours.
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Leave a Comment:
Yes most in Florida can't drive in the rain, cause accidents that are worse than those that happen in the snow! Never understood this.
Your a total idiot bill to say people from Florida can't drive in the rain. This rain is at the L-5 level to where it is equal to a white out and like riding on pure ice glass. Never understood how people can be such self centered genius's in their own mind but don't have a clue.
I heard about this one from friends and hope for the best for all in this bad wreck.
We've had white out rains for the last couple of days and more expected. Here's a link with a lot more info than the one provided in the story.
http://www.wtsp.com/
Guys it's a simple rule of the road: if you can't see you pull over as far as possible and put your flashers on. I've been on the road before with the so called 'white out conditions' and you know what, I and the other people driving at the time pulled over to wait for the storm to pass. It is way too similar to the tragic accident that occurred when the smoke obscured the road earlier this year.
I hope everyone will be ok in this, but there is a thing called common sense and when you don't follow it, bad things tend to happen.
Stupid comment. Accidents like this one do not happen every day in Florida, or in most states. But anybody who doesn't realize that heavy rain can be a hazard, and a serious hazard, probably should not be driving.
rain? really? golly gee thats tough..up here in a month or so that rain turns white if you cant drive in rain please stay south..........
If rain that heavy calls for not driving, and Floridians still drive, then Bill is right, they can't drive in the rain.
So Bill is right, and calling him names is indeed childish.
I experienced many drivers in my many trips across the state of Ohio who have no regard for changing conditions like rain. They can't see the vehicle in from of them from the rain mist yet don't slow down. They have no clue if the road is obstucted in front of them or not. These drivers were from many different states so there is no one state really with stupider drivers than the other. Simple common sense tells you to slow down . Sounds like the truck driver was a wanna be. One of the new breed of people getting a CDL but not understanding the havock they can cause when it gets away from them from lack of experience and thinking they can handle the rig in an emergency. you know the one. They blow by you 80 MPH or come right up on your bumper so close all you see is the bugs in the grill.Stupid morons who think they own the road because that is where they make teir money. I come from a trucking family but some of the things I see from these idiots makes me cringe at the lives they will take before they wake up.
I completely agree with Bill. I recently moved to South Florida and most cannot drive in the rain. (or a light sprinkle)
Actually most Floridians can't drive well at all.
Never seen so many slow driving, phone talking, clueless what's going on around them, people in the left lane.
Also the "turn left from 4 lanes over to the right" amazes me daily!
Florida is chock full of northeastern liberal Democrat transplants that hypocritically have escaped high taxation for retirement...so yes, a lot of Floridians can't drive in the rain.
By the way, the next time there's a big massive pileup in California, I'll be sure to remind everyone that all the liberal Democrats THERE can't drive either.
So it was the rain that was fast and furious"I get it."
My daughter lives in Fla. When I visited her I was concerned she drove around 45 mph on avenues that had streetlights, though somewhat apart. I told her to take it easy and she said that she could get a ticket for driving too slow and the speed limit was 45. This could be a factor. Florida is known for pile up accidents. Even motorcycle drivers are not required to wear a helmet. Fla loves its people!
Bill
You are 1000% correct. I've lived in florida for 28 years and THEY ARE THE WORST DRIVERS in the country. I guarantee that this accident was due to people driving way too fast. I've witnessed time and time again...dumbasses flying when its a blazing rainstorm and on top of that...EVERYBODY is on their damn cell phones...TO ALL...unless you live in florida You don't have a clue and should keep your opinions to yourself...oh and yeah they tailgate unbelievably here. I work in Miami and I have to drive 60 miles to work...I leave at 4 AM and you would'nt believe the way drivers run up your ass at 4 am There's not alot of people on the road so there's no reason for it...TERRIBLE DRIVERS!!!! OH, use RAINX on winshields
So many idiotic comments. Currently, I live 20 minutes from where the accident occurred on I75. I've lived in many places and have driven in downpours, white outs, ice outs, high winds, etc. The issue is not drivers in FL bu rather poor license requirements in all US states. In many countries a person cannot get their license until they are 18 y/o and complete rigorous driver training schools. Many states don't even require basic drivers education for younger drivers.
Highway laws also contribute to accidents, regardless of weather conditions. For example, in Germany you can drive on the autobahn at high rates of speed, but the number of accidents on them compared to interstates in the US is lower per capita. You can't pass on the right, you can't drive in the left lane unless passing. You can get a ticket for running out of gas on the autobahn, why, because it's dangerous to have stalled cars on the high speed highways.
How many times have you been tailgated in the left hand lane of the interstate? Move over dumb ass, you're going too slow to be in that lane!! And you idiots who pass on the right, your time is coming. As for helmet laws, they don't exist in many states, not just FL. I ride but I wear a helmet, even though they aren't required. Common sense tells me my head vs. the pavement isn't a good match up.
This is an education, common sense issue, unfortunately neither are abundant in American driver. It's also an issue of states not passing simple laws that will make the highways more safe, and I'm not talking about speed limits.
Before you ask, yes I'm a US citizen, born and raised, military vet. My comments aren't anti american, they're anti stupidity which exists in abundance in American driver, and exists regardless of your zip code and resident state.
You counter your own comment. It doesn't matter how much or little it is raining, if you get into an accident becase of the rain - you can't drive in the rain.
The rains in Florida are nothing like the snows up north--been in both and rain here is just craziness. The past week we've been having bans of extremely heavy rain that fall unexpectedly. Oh, and for the record, most of the accidents down here involve drivers coming in from other states... Northerners like to critisize our state but darn, they still come down here and cause us so much havoc and trouble--and no, we don't need your tourist dollars to survive. We do fine even in the summer when you're not around, believe it or not.
"if you get into an accident becase of the rain - you can't drive in the rain." Duh...........
thethinker? Your churn in the mind, bizzare thoughts. Try not to think so much.
wonder how many of those people were TEXTING or on the cell phone at the time?
Been to flordia once and swore to never go back because of the drivers.
The way that people tailgate on the interstate (and everywhere else, which I despise) it's no wonder that this happened. You would think that when it's raining that people would leave more space or would slow down, but they act like they are infallible in their SUV's...till something like this wakes them up. Too bad people don't learn from others mistakes because tomorrow the tailgaters will be back on the road as usual.
All cars involved were SUVs? How did I miss that??
Californians can't drive in the rain either.
You may have a point, just a cleaning lady. I've lived in California all my life and a good deal of California drivers (myself included, I admit), seem to live by the Top Gun "...I feel the need for speed..." credo when it comes to freeway driving. My exception to this though is when it rains or the weather otherwise calls for reducing your speed.
It never ceases to amaze me that some drivers think they can still drive 80 mph in the rain (ever hear of hydroplaning?), two car lengths behind the car in front of them. The highway patrol has said it since the beginning of time, SLOW DOWN in inclement weather!
Massachusetts drivers can drive in just about everything, and will let you know it if you slow down because you are having trouble in the conditions. VERY aggressive drivers up there - LOL. I grew up there and if you slow down for snow, people get reall annoyed with you.
Ha ha - now I live in Virginia and when someone slows to a crawl for a little flurry, I get so frustrated - can take the girl from boston but can't get the boston outta the girl. :-) I'm trying to learn patience...
Jenn i know where your coming from. Trouble is if everyone is smooth enough to flowat 80 MPH inadverse conditions and something like this truck jackknifing for some unforseen reason you end up with pile ups just like this one because EVERYONE is driving beyond their ability to control their vehicle. many people die each year because they have beaten the odds before but their luck runs out. Rule of thumb . If you can press as hard as you can and safely bring you car to a stop without hitting someone or something....slow down. I drove dirt late model for many years. Track conditions ranged for wet slppery to dry and dusty. Speed hit over 130 mph on tracks 1/2 mile or less. Even though I have that type of experience I slow down on the highway when conditons warrant and that might not even be weather related.
We Californians are sure driving slower now with gas hitting in some parts of the state of over $5.55 for a gallon of regular gas.
But back to this accident, I hope for the best for the people
And why does the number "47" been coming up so much recently ?
One of my main rules for driving is "Never drive faster than you can see".
I try to stay off those interstates. People will run you over doing 85 or 90.
only those who simply must be left lane campers. get in the RIGHT lane........................
Morning Bill
I see and experience those "happy" campers quite a bit and they are doing less than posted limit!
mornin jack,
{yeah i caught the typo havent seen bill yet today)
those pukes are everywhere always doing about 1 mph under the speed limit, then whine.
Mornin' Scooter,
still on my first cup of caffeine - sorry for the typo. But 1 mph under the limit is "their right" (sarcastic note)
@ Kathleen,
Well, maybe you shouldn't be walking on the highway...
Jenn, Well, maybe you shouldn't have a license...
Florida just beat the old California record!
wonder how the 405 did today, with 8 lanes,illegals,dopers,gang bangers, cops who cant wait for a high speed pursuit,etc. this should be easy to break.....
IA, I'm pretty sure everything you just names also applies to Florida...... Well ok maybe not the 8 lanes parts. The only difference between Cali and Florida is that when Florida's illegals touch ground they instantly get citizenship...
same here in Iowa Sam...same here...........:(
And chad hanging from their backsides?
I call driving "DWTS" driving with the stupids"
site wont print what i call it..........................:)
Unfortunately this stretch of I-75 is very dangerous. There is a visibility problem during heavy rain and fog. Less than a year ago it was the same area where there was another pileup that left 11 people dead. FHP frequently closes this stretch during poor visibility. Something needs to be done before more people are killed.
Not a Black White Issue
You may be somewhat confused by approximately 150 iles. Manatee County (South of Tampa) is south of Alachua County (near Gainesville). However, you are pretty accurate on the casualties incurred.
Jack
not a black white issue ......don't know about the black part but its going to be a white issue around here soon............
( jack, im hoping to be down your way by then)
Scooter, you coming to Barbados? LOL read my profile on Vine
Barbados? didn't see that. figured it was Jacksonville, but now that you mention it i will check into the prices. the gf and i are getting married and plan on a beach thing.....will let you know.
yeah mon! Lots of good rum too, along with excellent seafood.
when I was working in Jamaica, the slogan was:
"come to Jamaica and feel all right"! Trust me when I say it had many meanings.....
I drove through this stretch for business all the time. The fog from the gulf is one danger, the smoke from brush fires, and this one where it rains so hard in one spot the wipers are useless and it is a slip and slide. I-75,95 and 4 have alot of fatalities but thankfully I heard nobody died so far. Lots of injured and I wish them well.........
Did these 47 morons ever hear of defensive driving? I seriously doubt it.
ever been on an interstate? packs of cars (or "rolling roadblocks" as i call em) happen, generaly started by a left lane camper meeting a slow moveing truck.
I was involved in a multi-car pile-up due to fog one time. The worst feeling was sitting in my car trying to get myself together and hearing the sound to oncoming cars sliding towards the pile. Talk about feeling helpless.
i was in a multi person fog one time, course it was the late 60's and............
yeah, purple haze will cause that! lol "Scuze me, while I kiss the sky...."
any flashbacks?
nope....."it was only that ONE time and i didnt inhale"....................
you runnin for political office too? Guess it beats crack.... and rules for radicals. hehehe
office?.....naw....only if i could get a discount on cleaning my boots......
Driving in heavy fog, you're in a no-win situation. If you drive too fast, you're likely to pile into someone --- if you drive too slow, someone is likely to pile into you. It's best to pull off of the road for a while, if possible.
Several years back they passed legislation requiring the third brake light. It has saved a lot of lives and made cars much more visible. Many states have passed laws that if your wipers are on, your headlights have to be on as well. That is an easy one to forget. Especially when you have rains like in Florida that come out of nowhere and you do well to get the wipers on fast enough. I think they should have newer vehicles so that if the wipers are turned on, the headlights come on with them. Even on delay. Watch next time its raining and how much easier it is to see the vehicles with the lights on vs. the ones that don't. (Personally I think cars running, headlights should be on regardless of conditions or time of day. I drive with mine on all the time because people see you easier and since I have started doing that several years ago, less people pull out or almost pull out in front of me!)
Geo - you are so right! Also, your statement of:
If you ever drive thru NC, their sign says "burn your headlights when raining".
We have always gotten a chuckle with at terminology - besides, hard to burn anything in the rain! LOL
Jack
dont ya love those kind of signs...one of my fav's is
"no name creek"
um guys.......ya not only named it ya put up a sign to inform folks................
I got in the habit a few years ago of ALWAYS having my headlights on, rain, shine or otherwise.... A lot of new cars have that as an automated option and I'm pretty sure Canada requires lights on all the time.
An easy habit to start and i was worried I'd forget and leave them on and kill battery - not really possible, stupid (smart) car beeps really annoyingly if I forget to turn off...
Jenn, I learned the same lesson about ten years ago. Its an easy habit now. It also makes my dashboard dials easier to read.
@ Geo: Even having the extra brake light and running with your headlights on will do little to prevent collisions in HEAVY fog. The main problem IMO is the drastic variations in speed, with some vehicles running at or over the speed limit, while others just creep along. BTW, many new vehicles, including my Mazda, will turn the headlights on any time that the wipers start.
... and BTW, if you're running 45 mph out of caution on a fog-shrouded 75-mph interstate, and a vehicle running the speed limit comes up behind you, then all the brake lights in the world won't make any difference, because THEY WON'T BE ON.
SteveH, I realize that driving in fog is an exception to rules. Even the strobes on a school bus and our newer LED strobe lights on our ambulances are hard to see in fog. Better, yes, but still hard to see. I wasn't suggesting that headlights and the third brakelight was the answer to driving in the fog or any weather for that matter. I'm just saying they have helped, have saved many lives and that, to me, is worth it. The third brake light will do not good either, if the person behind you has their attention on their "smart"phone or other device. All the safey devices in the world can't save you in every situation.
If this rain is so severe, either people should not be driving in it or they drive too fast. Short attention spans.
on the bright side ..the tow truck unemployment rate dropped by .03% to a seasonably adjusted rate of..............
cant believe nbc missed this spin, must be the weekend crew.
Good catch -absolutely, NBC must be asleep at the wheel missing that extra "upswing" in the employment numbers!
Jack
Bottom line..driving too fast for conditions!
We can't quote common sense on this forum. What the hell are you thinking. LOL
"nevermore" quoth the raven
It's called driving HUA - Head Up A$$ -
cal680
Hear, Acknowledge & Understood!
Hoooyahhh!
Just wait until they read the "clause" in their "accident forgiveness" policy............
g
Gotta be tough sittin' and .......however, I bet "roids are no problemo!
glad I'm insured with the lizard....er gecko....i figure if he don't pay up I'll run his little butt over and the cops wont be able to charge me with nothin.....course if you run over that red lipped weirdo "Flo" that plan wont work out as well...........
Scooter
there are so many lizards/geckos down here that I thought Geeko opened up a foreign office...got the lizards in my house regularly - they eat the insects that fly in.
cool
Blue hairs, illegals, semi's, misfits, nitwits, and dimwits are clogging our roads. Bring back rail transportation in a big way. Speed, stupidity, senility, is what causes 90% of all vehicular accidents. Hopefully common sense will be back in fashion some day but I seriously doubt it.
other guy1
a little road rage perhaps, "...breathe in, breathe out; the time is now." Jimmy Buffett
Hope it works out for ya! Enjoy life. LOL
well I am in kind of a hurry to get down to the bar but...duh um duh...what was i going to say?..........
oh yeah.. you do realise that its always ...i repeat....ALWAYS......"the other guy's" ...fault dont you?...................
Jack
After three million accident free miles I have given it up. Doctor visits, and grocery shopping in my future. Hope to retire where golf carts and bicycles are the predominant mode of transportation. Oh yeah I am living life large.
Scooter
Nice play on words. This glaucoma is bearable with the proper meds and an ice cold brew for medicinal purposes help ease the pain. It is always the other guys fault. Just ask all the crooks I mean politicans in D.C.
bicycles? what are bicy......oh yeah... sorry... didn't recognise the word, i been calling em "targets" too long i guess..............
Scooter each bicycle is worth 5 points; Tricyles are 10 pts. with either a minor or senior attached! LOL
"I hear the train a comin, comin down the track...." Folsom Prison Blues, Johnny Cash
Other Guy, perhaps the crooks/politicians can get on that train with final stop at Folsom State prison - it is only a medium security, almost country-club atmosphere for those dilettantes
Easy cowboy you are upsetting the indians. I prefer the golf cart. Can't get the baseball card to stick in the spokes on the bike. Jack comin round the bend would Folsom hold that many crooks?
t o g 1
absolutely, there's always "room" for a few more, as for "...upsetting the Indians.", I'm in the same category regarding the age groups mentioned LOL "I'm growing older, just not growing up...!" Jimmy Buffett tune. I have no problem making fun of me either. Beside,on a
bicycleandtricycleerr, target, the baseball cards get soft from the morning dew. LOLRead my profile on the Vine, you'll see where I am coming from - humor is better than regret.!
Folsom's too small to hold em all, lets just build a wall around the existing ones we have...you know....Chicago and of course the big one......Washington D.C...............
too bad I cannot give that comment of a
more points by pressing the arrow to the right a gazillion times, even though mom always told me a million times to quit exaggerating! We could provide 1 way tickets for feisty, bev and all their compadres too.
as for F&B they both live there, but dont worry they will be way too busy with their constant drum beating to hear or see us building the wall.
71-76 Active Army.76-2011 NG. Been there done that. Humor and satire is all I have left. Wife has everything else. Couldn't agree more with Chicago and D.C. are both sewers of corruption. Lets hope that some of us won't get recalled to Iran. Pointed heads in the five sided building are too busy planning gay events to be actively engaged.
jackfromJax. Thank you for your service and welcome home. I too refuse to grow up. That way it won't be a traumatic transition to senility. LOL
TOG1
welcome looks like you are replacing Denver bill today.. wonder where he is. hope hes ok .anyway thanks to both of you....navy.. nam 73 ....Member VFW and American legion. bout to head there soon. take it easy guys.
t o g 1 & Scooter
Roger that and thank you for your service. As for
most of those A$$ C1own$ belong to the WPA anyway and are nothing but PC "managers" of mind control.
T O G1
you will make a great addition to Scooter, Denver Bill & Jack from Jax comedic routine! Sometimes it drives the other posters to tears of laughter and others (those with 0 sense of humor) ape$h1t with rage - but we sure as h3ll prefer laughing to crying with all the BS of politics, crime etc.
Welcome aboard!
Jack
scooter and jack
I too enjoy denver's comments. Gotta laugh or be on meds to make sense of all the sick @!$%# going on.
I have to get ready for an adventure. HAGD cya on the flip side.
that funny
mirror?
Followed by another minute of crashing sounds which turned out to be all the lawyers piling up to get a piece of the action. Oh the pain, the pain.
terrible thing to happen , but if mr. limbaugh got caught up in it , that answers the reason of florida's trouble.
ever hear of "first read"? ....go there...., we joke around allot here but not nearly as much as those comedic masters such as feisty or beverly. now THEY can truly spin some serious comedy.you will like it there.
Scooter
I think feisty and beverly might be some of his close acquaintances and somehow, I get the impression t j b is not into comedy relief and will always see the glum side of a comment.
There are two kinds of drivers in Florida, the kind that are cautious and err sometimes on the side of being overcautious, then there are the types that fly up and down the highway, which is great when conditions permit it, unfortunately these two elements clash when conditions are bad, I was North on I-75 (lake Pan) and the visibilty was down to ten feet and there was sixty five MPH winds, include in this spray and one has a terrible mix, now here are some figures, at 30MPH one travels 44 feet per second so even when people slowed down to 30 they still have travelled two car lengths every second, as the rain was so heavy there was nowhere for it to go so it puddled and flowed on the roadway put all this together along with the bloodymindedness of drivers and you have a deadly concoction. six months ago we had a deadly crash which caused the lives of eleven people jusBetween Gainesville and Ocala, so these 'accidents' are relatively frequent on this road.
CaptnRon....not according to my co-driver ...CaptnJack
Hey Scooter,
it's been raining cats and dogs here most of Saturday morning - so much that all the geckos have come inside asking for asylum! According to Captn Ron's "advice" we have no way of ever going anywhere in a timely manner! WTF, over.Maybe I should say, "oh well" and bring out the rum - Captain Morgan and then see where that takes me - in a timely manner - "time flies by when you're having rum..." Jimmy Buffett
Jack
trade ya, it was 28 when i got up, suppose to get to a blistering 56 today...im get-tin too old for this chit.
no way Jose',
That's why I am here and you are there! LOL Past few years, even Jax has been a "mutha" from Dec- March, here in B'bados, cool tropical breezes at night and warm sunny (most times) days.
Thanks for your service in Nam '73, I have a Nam Alma Mater 70-72
Most of you comment on how Floridians cannot drive - I lived in Sarasota county most of my life and most of the roads there are congested with seasonal drivers, 1. Unfamiliar with the speed limits (much higher in FLA 55 vs 70mph on interstate) 2. extreme weather with no warning. I am now a resident in Upstate NY. I've driven in both extremes heavy rain and snow. There is a big difference. When the sky opens up on you in Florida most of the time there is no warning and when it happens it does so fast you cant even see the road to pull off...Weather in the north, rain, snow, etc...NO comparison. This was probably unavoidable...BUT Thank GOD no one was killed.
Dagger
An astute comment, but down here we do not have to shovel the rain, whereas upstate NY, a snow blower is mostly ineffective for the heavy stuff. As for driving, the black ice where you are is really deceptive too.
dagger
of what is this strange thing... "speed limits" ...of which you speak?
%$&! Snowbirds