Two on motorcycle injured in hit and run on I-275 near Ulmerton exit ♦ Both taken to the Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg

PINELLAS COUNTY – According to BayNews9, Two people were injured in a crash that involved a motorcycle and a pickup truck on southbound Interstate 275. The accident happened about a quarter mile south of the southbound exit ramp to State Road 688 at 5:50 p.m. Law enforcement officials say a motorcycle with a male driver and female passenger were traveling southbound on I-275 in the left center lane when an unknown pickup truck collided into the motorcycle from the rear in the same lane. The motorcycle driver lost control, and the occupants were ejected onto the road. The unknown truck left the scene.

Both were transported to Bayfront Medical Center Trauma Unit in St. Petersburg.

The investigation continues.

I-75 • I-4 • I-10 • TRUCK ACCIDENTS • Florida State Trucking Laws •

NATIONAL - There are approximately 5,000 deaths, 100,000 injuries, and 500,000 trucking accidents every year. Trucking accidents are more likely to cause serious injury because trucks are bigger. A commercial tractor-trailer can weigh over 80,000 pounds, while an average passenger car weighs around 3,000 pounds. Thus, tractor trailer accidents often result in serious or fatal injuries for the occupants of the car.

You should know that you are NOT negotiating on level ground when dealing with a trucking company after a trucking accident. Most trucking companies are highly skilled at auto truck accident investigation and claims practice. These insurance company adjusters and investigators represent the trucking company.

Do not give them any type of statements (recorded or oral) or sign any type of release for medical records or employment records. Often the medical release allows the investigator or claims adjuster to talk to your doctors without you or anyone being present. Never accept a check from the adjuster to “cover your out of pocket expenses.”

Most trucking companies have accident investigators and adjusters that are on-call 24 hours a day and are dispatched to the scene of the crash. Many times the investigator and adjuster arrive on the scene while the police are still conducting their investigation. While the families of the accident victims are tending to emergency medical care or are making funeral arrangements, the trucking company is investigating the truck accident and setting up a legal defense.

This is just one reason why the victims of auto truck crashes should have a team of investigators and a qualified truck accident attorney fighting for their rights. The Florida Department of Public Safety has adopted Title 49, Parts 382-384 and 390-399 of the federal regulations. The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (Title 49, Parts 350-399) govern all vehicles engaged in interstate traffic.

If you or a loved one has been injured in a trucking accident, call the TRIPP LAW FIRM – Personal Injury Law at (888) 392-LAWS (5297) for an immediate telephone consultation.

Our injury law team is available 24 hours a day. There is NO CHARGE for the telephone consultation and is 100% confidential.

NO FEE or NO COST if NO RECOVERY.

www.trippfirm.com – Prompt and Aggressive Representation

TWENTY FIVE FHP TROOPERS work three crashes on I-75, I-275 and I-4 involving 131 vehicles

Hillsborough / Polk County — UPDATE — Fifty (50) crashes on three major highways involving 131 vehicles with more than a dozen people sent to hospitals. It all happened over a five-hour period on a Sunday afternoon. The FHP cites wet roads and heavy traffic as the common causes of these accidents.

Just after 3:00 p.m. on Interstate 75 – Northbound, One crash caused seven (7) others, including one involving a church charter bus with more than 40 people aboard. Nineteen (19) vehicles were involved, and six (6) people went to local hospitals. Northbound I-75 was closed for about three (3) hours. Traffic was re-routed off Interstate 75 at State Road 60 near Brandon.

Just before 5:00 p.m., Twenty three (23) more crashes happened on Interstate 4 Westbound, about three miles west of U.S. 27 in Polk County. That pileup involved forty eight (48) vehicles. As a result of these crashes, four (4) people were hospitalized. The traffic back up was not as bad as on I-75 northbound.

Then, shortly after 5:00 p.m., more collisions were reported on Interstate 275 – Southbound on the Howard Frankland Bridge just west of Kennedy Boulevard. This eight (8) vehicle crash caused eleven (11) accidents with more than sixty four (64) vehicles involved. As a result of these crashes, four (4) people were hospitalized. The southbound traffic was limited to just one lane of passage as the vehicles were untangled and moved off the bridge. Just before 9:00 p.m. the traffic flow resumed to normal.

IN THE RAIN, PLEASE SLOW DOWN and PAY ATTENTION. Give yourself more stopping distance as your braking capability is NOT the same on wet roads as on dry roads.

www.trippfirm.com

Fatal crash closes downtown Tampa interstate off-ramp ♦ I-275 Ashley Street

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY - The I-275 Ashley Street exit in downtown Tampa was closed after the fatal 3:15 a.m. crash. A man was killed early Friday when his SUV failed to navigate the curve on the Interstate 275 southbound exit on Ashley Street.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the man was killed at 3:15 a.m. when he was thrown from his vehicle. Officials said the car was going too fast to make the curve and flipped over.

Officials closed the exit while investigating the crash. It is expected to be reopened before 7 a.m.

Source – BayNews9

I-275 ROLLOVER ACCIDENT injures woman, baby between Bearss and S.R. 54 • Lutz • Wesley Chapel • Land O' Lakes • FLORIDA

A woman and a baby were injured when their pickup left the road on Interstate 275 about two miles north of Bearss Avenue and rolled over several times. The 25-year-old woman was seriously injured, but a 4-month-old baby in the vehicle received only minor injuries when the woman lost control of her pickup truck on Interstate 275 late Tuesday. The driver of the truck was heading north on the interstate about 11:38 p.m. when she veered to the outside shoulder about two miles north of Bearss Avenue, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The driver overcorrected when she tried to bring the 2003 Silverado back into the highway, and the truck went into the median, where it flipped several times, the accident report said.

The driver-side door had to be pried off by rescue personnel, and the driver of the truck was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa, troopers said. The highway patrol listed her injuries as serious. The baby was strapped in to a car seat when rescue workers got on the scene. The infant was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph's Hospital for evaluation.The driver of the truck was charged with careless driving.

The highway patrol is continuing to investigate the accident