Lakeland Semi-Truck Crash Injures Three, Including Two Florida Officers

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on March 14, 2021

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is currently coordinating their efforts with the Florida Highway Patrol in order to determine the exact cause of a tractor-trailer accident that occurred along I-4 this past Friday evening which injured a teenager and two patrol officers who were performing a routine traffic stop on a disabled SUV parked on the shoulder of the interstate.

According to preliminary collision reports from responding law enforcement agencies, It was approximately 7:25 p.m. on March 12^th, 2021, when one officer from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and one trooper with the Florida Highway Patrol identified an SUV stopped on the western side of Interstate 4 suffering from what appeared to be a mechanical malfunction. Both officers proceeded to activate the emergency lights atop their police cruisers and exited their vehicles to assist the 17-year-old SUV driver.

As the small group gathered around the SUV to assess the situation, a semi-truck travelling in the westbound direction quickly approached them in the outermost lane. Under Florida law, motorists are required to move over one lane, when possible, for “stopped law enforcement, emergency, sanitation, utility service vehicles and tow trucks or wreckers.” However, for reasons that are not clear at this time, the tractor-trailer failed to switch lanes and crashed into the sheriff’s vehicle as it was pulling away from the scene. The force of this accident caused the cruiser to slam into the 17-year-old, their SUV, the FHP cruiser, and the Florida Highway Patrol officer himself. The big rig finally came to a stop after crashing into guardrail, but not before slamming into another car on the roadway.

Polk County emergency response teams arrived at the accident site and immediately started to evaluate the extent of the injuries sustained by each individual involved in the chain-reaction collision. Both officers and the driver of the SUV thankfully only suffered minor injuries and the 57-year-old semi-truck driver from Orlando was uninjured.

Since 1977, Orlando auto accident attorney James O. Cunningham has been fighting for the rights of victims injured in car, motorcycle, and semi-truck collisions. If you would like to schedule a free 30-minute case evaluation, please contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY to make an appointment.

Sources:

• Trooper, Polk deputy, teen injured in I-4 tractor-trailer crash

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.