COLLIER COUNTY, Fla — A 52-year-old man was killed just after midnight on Friday morning, in a chain reaction crash on Alligator Alley.
Florida Highway Patrol says seven vehicles, including three semi trucks, were involved in the crash in the southbound lanes of I-75, near mile marker 96.
Troopers say a semi truck driver stopped in a travel lane because smoke in the area limited visibility. A second semi truck rear-ended the first, and then five more vehicles crashed behind it.
The 52-year-old man who was killed was from Madeira Beach. FHP says he driving a pick-up truck and was the fourth vehicle in the crash. He had two passengers with him, a 38-year-old woman and a 15-year-old boy. They have serious injuries.
Only one other person in the chain reaction was injured.
The crash backed up traffic on I-75 for more than 8 hours.
In fact, the interstate was closed in both directions for that long, because there were three other crashes in the northbound lanes in that same area.
According to FHP, the first crash in the northbound lanes involved two semi trucks and a pick-up truck. No one was injured.
The second crash involved four passenger vehicles, but no one was injured.
In the third crash, a passenger vehicle hit a guardrail and no one was injured.
