Crashes on I-75, SR 70 leave 3 dead and 5 seriously injured in Manatee and Sarasota
Three people were killed and five seriously injured in two separate crashes over the weekend in Manatee and Sarasota counties.
The first crash happened at about 3:20 p.m. Saturday on State Road 70 near Saddlebag Trail and Myakka City, Florida Highway Patrol reported.
A 57-year-old man from Bradenton was driving a pickup that was towing an RV, headed west on 70.
He lost control, the RV detached and the truck rotated into the eastbound lanes, hitting a van driven by an 80-year-old man from Dunedin.
The Bradenton man was pronounced dead at the scene, and his passenger, a 52-year-old man from Oakland Park, Florida, was flown to a hospital with serious injuries.
The Dunedin man and his passenger, a 75-year-old woman also from Dunedin, were flown to a hospital with serious injuries.
The RV went onto the shoulder and hit a tree.
The second crash happened at 7:10 p.m. Saturday on Interstate 75 in Sarasota County, south of mile marker 196.
A 59-year-old man from Naples driving a 2006 Hyundai was in the left inside lane and swerved into the center lane, hitting a pickup.
The truck rotated, went onto the grass shoulder and overturned. Two backseat passengers were ejected — a 64-year-old man from North Port and 50-year-old man from Lowell, Indiana.
The North Port man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Lowell man was flown to a hospital where he was later pronounced dead.
The driver, a 63-year-old woman from North Port, and front passenger, a 41-year-old woman from Lowell, were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.
The sedan driver fled the scene but was found “a short time later” on Laurel Road and arrested, according to a press release.
Donald Leif Johnsen, 59, faces two counts of leaving the scene of traffic crash involving a death, and two counts of DUI manslaughter, FHP said.
Both crashes remain under investigation.
