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Reports Provide Narrative Of Deadly I-4 Pileup

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By KEITH MORELLI, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 5, 2008

LAKELAND - The first of what perhaps will be thousands of pages of reports on the deadly Interstate 4 pileup in Polk County trickled into public view Monday with narratives that detailed what happened.

The Florida Highway Patrol released nearly 150 pages of reports documenting a string of crashes Jan. 9 that killed five and sent nearly 40 to area hospitals.

In all, 70 vehicles were involved in crashes in the area before dawn Jan. 9.

Fog shrouded the road, which was strewn with debris for a couple of miles, mostly along an eastbound stretch near Polk City.

Most reports are short, from four to six pages. One that documents the most serious collision, which killed three, is 26 pages long.

That narrative says collisions ignited several vehicles, including a tractor-trailer.

Many of the reports have diagrams showing the way the vehicles came to rest on the highway.

Here's a sample of the text:

"Vehicle 16 was stopped in the inside lane, due to a previous crash. Vehicle 1 stopped behind Vehicle 16. Vehicle 3 and Vehicle 5 were stopped in the center lane. Vehicle 4 was eastbound in the inside lane and struck the rear of Vehicle 1 with its front. Vehicle 1 was propelled forward by impact, striking the rear of Vehicle 16 with its front. Vehicle 16 was propelled forward by impact, coming to rest."

In report after report, the chaos of the morning is reduced to such dry, straightforward accounts.

On the day of the pileup, drivers and witnesses said fog was a major cause.

The state is investigating whether another factor was smoke from a nearby brush fire, a controlled burn that got out of control.

One report noted that fog and smoke caution signs were posted in the area.

The reports don't mention those conditions as causes.

They do identify drivers, passengers and vehicle makes and models.

In one report, troopers list careless driving as contributing factors in the wrecks of four vehicles.

"The drivers of these vehicles failed to drive in a careful and prudent manner," the report states. The report stops short of indicating whether citations were issued to those people on the day of the crash.

Troopers have said some of the drivers may receive citations in the mail.

Drivers in the westbound lanes who were involved in minor crashes as they tried to get off the backed-up interstate were issued tickets by troopers that morning.

Reports of those incidents were included in the paperwork released Monday.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tbo.com.

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