Seven-vehicle crash on I-75 in Collier County leaves 1 dead, 3 injured; causes overnight standstill

The Florida Highway Patrol responded to a seven-vehicle crash on Interstate 75 southbound at Mile Marker 96 that killed one and injured three.

Troopers responded to the crash on Alligator Alley at around 12:11 a.m. on Friday, where they had to block both the north and southbound lanes to attend to the scene.

At 8 a.m., the northbound lanes have reopened.

At 9:35 a.m., southbound lanes have reopened, resuming normal traffic.

Prior to the roadways opening, motorists were stuck in standstill traffic for nearly nine hours.

According to troopers, three commercial semi-trucks carrying trailers and four passenger vehicles were traveling south on I-75 at MM-96.

One of the semi-trucks, driven by a 41-year-old man from Miami, stopped within the travel lane due to low visibility caused by smoke in the area. 

The smoke in the area was caused by a prescribed burn that occurred at Picayune Strand State Forest in Collier County on Wednesday, dramatically reducing visibility.

The second semi-truck, driven by a 44-year-old man from Lakeland, crashed into the rear of the first semi-truck. 

This caused a chain reaction to occur, leading to a third semi-truck, driven by a 61-year-old man from Deerfield Beach, a GMC Pickup truck driven by a 48-year-old from Boca Raton, a Toyota driven by a 32-year-old man from Miami, a Chevrolet pickup truck containing a 52-year-old man from Madeira Beach, along with two passengers, a 38-year-old female and a 15-year-old male, and an Audi driven by a 49-year-old man from Coral Springs to crash.

The 52-year-old man driving the Chevrolet pickup truck was killed in the crash.

The female and teenage occupants of the Chevrolet pickup truck sustained serious injuries due to the crash and were transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

The Audi driver sustained minor injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital for treatment.

Shortly after midnight on Friday, three other separate crashes occurred on the northbound lanes of I-75 at MM-95.

According to troopers, the first crash involved two semi-trucks containing trailers and a pickup truck. No injuries were reported. 

The second crash involved four passenger vehicles, with no injuries reported. The third crash involved one vehicle striking a guardrail, with no injuries reported. 

Due to the nature of the crashes, troopers closed both north and southbound lanes beginning at MM-101 southbound and MM-80 northbound.

Troopers are expected to provide further updates regarding how the fatal seven-vehicle crash occurred later Friday.

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