MINNEOLA — A 2015 Genesis GV80 traveling south on the Florida Turnpike south of North Hancock Road (mile marker 277) in the inside lane collided in a fatal crash with a construction tractor on Sept. 24, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.
The tractor was operating in an active construction zone in the southbound center median of the turnpike.
At the time of the crash, a 2015 Chevrolet Trax was traveling south on the turnpike south of North Hancock Road in the inside lane behind the Genesis, and a 2024 Dodge Charger was also heading south on the turnpike but in the outside lane.
For unknown reasons, the Genesis driver ran off the roadway to the left into the active construction zone, according to the news release.
As a result, the front of Genesis struck the tractor, and the impact caused the Genesis to rotate back into the inside lane of the turnpike and collide with the left side of Trax. The Genesis driver was ejected, and the Charger struck debris in the outside lane, the release says.
The Genesis driver was transported to South Lake Hospital and pronounced deceased. He was described in the release as a 59-year-old St. Cloud man. The tractor operator, a 55-year-old man from Summerfield, sustained minor injuries.
The Trax driver was transported to South Lake Hospital for treatment of minor injuries, and the Charger driver was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: One fatality, 2 injured at Florida Turnpike crash by construction zone in Mineola
Reporting by Julie Garisto, Leesburg Daily Commercial / Daily Commercial
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
