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I-75 N. In Sarasota Reopens After 3-Vehicle Crash
News Channel 8 photo by RUGENE MOORE
A tractor-trailer's fuel tank ignited when it hit a sign-board truck, pushing it into a street sweeper, on Interstate 75 North near Bee Ridge Road in Sarasota.
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Published: May 7, 2008
Updated: 05/07/2008 07:10 am
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All lanes of Interstate 75 North in Sarasota reopened at 7 a.m., about six hours after a fiery crash involving three vehicles.
A tractor-trailer collided with a truck and a street sweeper in the outside northbound lane of Interstate 75 about 1 a.m., igniting the big rig, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The tractor-trailer driver, Larry Cogar, 58, of Ohio, failed to see a street sweeper and a work truck with a lighted arrow board, said Lt. Paul France of the highway patrol. His rig hit the sign-board truck and pushed it into the street sweeper, France said.
The impact punctured a tractor-trailer fuel tank and ignited the rig. Authorities spent hours cleaning up the fuel spill.
Cogar was airlifted to Bayfront Medical Center and was listed in satisfactory condition, a hospital spokesman said.
The driver of the sign truck, Robert Benjamin, 62, of Riverview, had minor injuries, troopers said. The driver of the street sweeper, Justin Davis, 26, of Riverview, also was OK. Both men were taken to Doctors Hospital in Sarasota for evaluation.
Stay with TBO.com for developments.
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