The Florida Highway Patrol have arrested an 18-year-old driver and impounded his Ford Mustang following a fatal hit-and-run crash on Interstate 75 in Manatee County early Monday morning.
In an update from FHP, law enforcement said they identified the driver of a 2022 Ford Mustang who caused a semi tractor-trailer to overturn when the Mustang collided with an SUV, pushing the car into the semi-truck’s pathway. The driver, Jonathan Matos Morales, 18, of Cocoa, Florida, is now charged with vehicular homicide and leaving a crash scene involving death, according to the news release.
Matos Morales is currently being held in the Manatee County Jail, according to jail records.
FHP troopers responded to the crash that happened around 6:28 a.m. on Monday, April 20, on I-75 in the southbound lanes at mile marker 220 near the junction for State Road 64, according to previous reporting.
Three vehicles — a dark-colored Ford Mustang, a Chevy Trailblazer SUV and a semi-truck — were involved in the crash.
The Ford Mustang was traveling in the left lane when it shifted into the center lane, its right-side colliding with the front left of the Chevy Trailblazer, according to the FHP news release. The impact caused the Trailblazer to exit the lane and enter the right lane into the direct path of the semi-truck.
The Trailblazer collided with the semi-truck, redirecting it across the southbound lanes of I-75. The semi-truck overturned onto its right side and came to a stop partially in the grass median, blocking all three southbound lanes of traffic.
The Mustang stopped momentarily after the collisions before continuing south on I-75, according to the release.
The driver of the Trailblazer was a 63-year-old Palmetto man who sustained minor injuries, while the semi-truck driver was a 34-year-old man from New Smyrna, Florida. The semi-truck driver sustained fatal injuries, according to the release.
FHP investigators released a video of the suspect car later in the day which showed the Ford Mustang cut across the three lanes of southbound traffic to the far left lane moments before the crash. As brake lights flare, the Mustang then shifts over to the center lane, colliding with the Trailblazer.
There have been about 24,910 hit-and-run crashes in Florida so far in 2026, according to the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles’ crash dashboard. There have also been 49 fatalities from hit-and-run crashes and 4,953 injuries, according to the dashboard. In Manatee County, there have been about 393 hit-and-run crashes, with three fatalities and 78 injuries.
FHP continues to investigate the crash.
Gabriela Szymanowska covers the criminal justice, courts and legal system for the Herald-Tribune. Reach out with a news tip to gszymanowska@gannett.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: FHP arrests teen driver in deadly I-75 hit-and-run in Manatee County
Reporting by Gabriela Szymanowska, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Sarasota Herald-Tribune
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