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FHP Issues Final Report On 24-Vehicle Pileup

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 2, 2009

More than a year after a 24-vehicle crash on Interstate 4, a final report by the Florida Highway Patrol has been competed and released.

The crash began about 5:30 a.m. Jan. 9 near mile marker 47. Drivers couldn't see well in the area due to fog and smoke from a wildfire burning north of the crash scene. Four people died.

"The cause of this wild fire appears to have been an unpredictable change in the weather that caused a prescribed fire to burn erratically which resulted in fires outside of the established areas of the prescribed burn," the report states. "This environmental condition played a role in this crash as did human error."

The crash was one of many on I-4 that day. Due to fog and smoke, about 70 vehicles were involved in a dozen crashes and five people died.

A dozen people involved in the 24-vehicle crash were charged with careless driving, a traffic citation. That's because investigators concluded that despite the poor conditions, many other drivers were able to reduce speed and make controlled stops.

The drivers who were charged are: John Clinton Marsh, 42, of Auburndale; Efrain Rivera Jr., 49, of Kissimmee; James Whaley, 55, of Plant City; Ronald Nicholson, 58, of Lakeland; Steven Harless, 48, of Bradenton; Jose Abundio Vasquez, 53, of Polk City; Ronald Maurer, 54, of Bradenton; Nancy Sadler, 68, of Lakeland; Kathy Franklin, 43, of Tampa; Samuel Spadavecchia Jr., 52, of Lakeland; Dairo Restrepo, 45, of Lakeland; and Robert Barnes, 45, of Michigan.

Only one report has still not been competed on the day of I-4 crashes. That report involves a 10-vehicle crash where one person died. No timetable has been set for the completion of that report, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Steve Gaskins said.

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