A Sarasota man was arrested on DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges after the Florida Highway Patrol said he drove the wrong way on Interstate 75 in Charlotte County early Sunday, causing a crash that killed a Bradenton woman and seriously injured three others.
The crash was at least the second this year involving a wrong-way driver accused of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
The more recent crash happened around 1:13 a.m. Sunday, March 17 on northbound I-75 near mile marker 150 in Charlotte County, according to FHP.
Troopers said a 2020 Ford F-150 driven by Dennis Lee Olson, 53, of Sarasota, was traveling south in the northbound lanes when it collided with a 2016 Kia Optima and a 2012 Honda CR-V.
The driver of the Honda, a 21-year-old Bradenton woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities had not publicly released her name as of Sunday morning.
The Kia’s driver, a 34-year-old Arcadia woman, and two passengers — boys ages 12 and 15 from Arcadia — suffered serious injuries and were transported to an area hospital, FHP said.
A fourth vehicle, a 2023 Tesla Model 3 driven by a 19-year-old Sarasota woman, later struck crash debris and sustained minor damage. She was not injured.
Olson suffered non-incapacitating injuries and was taken to an area hospital. After his release, troopers arrested him on charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, according to FHP and Charlotte County Jail records.
The crash remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.
March 2026 crashed killed a 96-year-old man in Naples
In March, a Naples woman was driving the wrong way on I-75 in Naples and crashed head-on into two cars, killing the driver of one.
Genise Gardenia Taylor, 24, faces drunken driving manslaughter charges in the March 18 death of Arthur Ward Gilbert, 96.
The deadly wreck happened just after 4:15 a.m. March 18 along Interstate 75, near Mile Marker 110 in North Naples, FHP said.
Troopers said Taylor was driving northbound in the southbound lanes on I-75 and crashed with cars driven by Gilbert and a 57-year-old New Hampshire man, who survived.
Florida traffic crash statistics for 2026
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports there were 121,511 crashes in Florida between Jan. 1 and May 7, 2026, with 856 fatalities.
The department’s Florida Crash Dashboard also shows there were 78,610 injuries and 796 fatal crashes statewide during the same period.
Contributing: Tomas Rodriguez of The News-Press & Naples Daily News
Wade Tatangelo is the executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida dining and entertainment editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Man arrested in fatal wrong-way Interstate 75 crash in Southwest Florida
Reporting by Wade Tatangelo, Sarasota Herald-Tribune / Fort Myers News-Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
