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Three dead in Port Charlotte crash Tuesday afternoon

Posted at 6:42 AM, Jan 10, 2018
and last updated 2018-01-10 06:42:22-05

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. – Troopers say three people died Tuesday when their truck pulled out in front of another truck.

Florida Highway Patrol says the crash happened at 4:45 p.m. Tuesday at the intersection of Marathon Boulevard and Gasparilla Road.

Troopers say three people in a Chevy pickup truck died in the crash: 80-year-old driver Alban Bianco of Gorham, Maine, and two passengers, 73-year-old Rebecca Hlavsa of Port Charlotte, and 82-year-old Raymond Lapointe of Lewiston, Michigan.

Troopers say Bianco was driving eastbound on Marathon Boulevard and proceeded from the stop sign into the intersection and into the path of a northbound Dodge pickup truck towing a trailer, which slammed into the right side of Bianco’s truck.

Bianco and Hlavsa died at the scene.  Lapointe was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Investigators say the Dodge truck’s driver was not at fault, but he was cited for not having a driver's license, registration, or insurance.