A hit-and-run crash on southbound Interstate 75 near State Road 64 in Manatee County early Monday morning left a 34-year-old semi truck driver from New Smyrna Beach dead, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
MANATEE COUNTY – Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a fatal hit-and-run crash that happened early Monday morning on Interstate 75 southbound near Mile Marker 220, just south of the State Road 64 junction in Manatee County.
FHP said the crash happened at about 6:28 a.m. and involved a black Ford Mustang, a Chevy Trailblazer SUV, and a semi tractor trailer.
The accident began as a dark-colored Ford Mustang was traveling southbound on I-75 in the left lane. At the same time, a 63-year-old Palmetto man driving a Chevy Trailblazer was traveling southbound in the center lane, while a 34-year-old man from New Smyrna Beach was driving a semi tractor trailer southbound in the same center lane behind the SUV.
According to troopers, the Ford Mustang entered the center lane, where its right side collided with the left front side of the Chevy Trailblazer SUV. That impact forced the SUV out of its lane and into the right lane, directly into the path of the semi tractor trailer.
FHP said the right side of the the Full-sized Chevy Trailblazer SUV then collided with the left front side of the semi.
After that second impact, the semi was redirected in a southeasterly direction across the southbound travel lanes of Interstate 75.
The semi overturned onto its right side and came to final rest on its side and top, partially in the grass median and across all three southbound lanes of I-75, troopers said.
The driver of the semi suffered fatal injuries in the crash. The driver of the Chevy Trailblazer suffered minor injuries.
Authorities said the Mustang stopped briefly after the collisions, then fled the scene southbound on Interstate 75.
FHP described the fleeing vehicle as a black Ford Mustang with rear window louvers and possibly a stick-style camera mounted on the rear. The driver was described as a stocky-built man wearing a gray hoodie.
The Florida Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Unit is continuing to investigate the crash.
Anyone with information or video related to this incident is asked to contact the Florida Highway Patrol by dialing *FHP (*347) or to contact Crime Stoppers.
Update: FHP Arrests Suspected Driver in Fatal I-75 Hit-and-Run
UPDATE 4/21/26: Florida Highway Patrol said troopers have located and impounded the suspected Vehicle 1, identified as a 2022 Ford Mustang, and arrested the driver in connection with this fatal hit-and-run crash.
According to FHP, the driver was identified the driver as an 18-year-old man from Cocoa, Florida. Troopers said the man has been arrested and booked into the Manatee County Jail on charges of Vehicular Homicide and Leaving the Scene of a Crash Involving Death.
The crash remains under investigation, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
