Motorcyclist Killed in Head-On Collision with Disoriented Driver Near Tampa

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on July 8, 2019

Police working within a stretch of Pasco County that lies near to Tampa are crediting a fatal motorcycle accident that took place in the middle of June to a driver that became confused while attempting to merge onto Interstate 75. The Florida Highway Patrol has issued statements around the crash, and this is the source of most of the current information around the incident.

According to these statements, an 84-year-old woman from Tampa was behind the wheel of a 1994 Lincoln Town Car at around 3:30 in the afternoon. They were driving down the northern lanes of I-275 when they attempted to pull onto the ramp that led from I-275 to the northbound lanes of I-75. For reasons that are not entirely clear, when the driver reached I-75 they became disoriented and, instead of joining the flow of traffic, turned the wrong way and began to travel in a southern direction down the northbound lanes.

It is not clear if the driver understood their mistake and was trying to remedy their error when they reached the overpass of County Line Road. At this time, a second driver was required to jerk their wheel violently in order to escape from a head-on collision with the Lincoln. Instead of striking the Lincoln, this car then collided with a pick-up truck. Authorities who responded to the scene stated that this crash was minor.

The driver of the Lincoln also jerked their wheel to escape a head-on collision with the second car, a choice which took them to the western shoulder of I-75. A fourth vehicle was then involved in the accident when a motorcyclist, being driven by a 45-year-old resident of Clearwater, approached the area. The reports stated that the driver of this motorcycle also swerved out of the travel lanes in order to escape crashing, but this decision took them directly into the path of the Lincoln. The larger car and the motorcycle then collided head-on, causing the motorcyclist to be ejected from their vehicle and suffer from severe injuries.

When emergency response crews reached the area, there was nothing that could be done for the fatally injured motorcyclist, and they were pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Lincoln also suffered from severe injuries, and they were rushed to Advent Health Tampa. It is not clear what the condition of this individual was in the days following the crash.

Sources:

• Confused driver causes fatal wrong-way crash on Interstate 75, troopers say

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.