Suspected DUI driver smashes into Sling Shot, sending teen over I-275 barrier wall: FHP
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA)— A 23-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after a crash that seriously injured a 19-year-old man on Interstate 275 on Sunday night, authorities said.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Dane Anthony Jones, 23, of Dunedin, was driving an Infiniti sedan northbound on I-275, just north of Interstate 4, when he lost control of his vehicle on the wet roadway.
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Jones collided with a disabled Can-Am Sling Shot that was parked along the shoulder. The Sling Shot’s driver, a 19-year-old from Wesley Chapel, had been standing next to the vehicle.
According to FHP, the impact propelled the 19-year-old over the barrier wall and into the southbound lanes of I-275. He was taken to a nearby hospital with serious injuries.
Jones was arrested by troopers for DUI serious injury, DUI property damage, and driving while having a suspended license and causing serious injury, the report said.
The crash shut down both directions of I-275 for several hours. The northbound lanes were closed until 3:56 a.m. The southbound lanes reopened at 3:28 a.m.
As of this writing, the FHP has not given an update on the 19-year-old’s condition.
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