SARASOTA COUNTY, Fla.- A 63-year-old man from North Port died in a crash Saturday night along Interstate 75 and River Road.
Florida Highway patrol said Michael Thorne was in the backseat of a trooper’s car when the crash happened and was killed. Deputies said the trooper Joseph Angelicchi was investigating a singer car crash on the northbound lanes of Interstate 75 when his patrol car was hit. A car hauler traveling north on Interstate 75 hit the trooper’s car as he was trying to cross the northbound lanes. The car hauler hit the back of the trooper’s car, where Thorne was sitting.
Thorne had been involved in the original crash Trooper Angelicchi was investigating. The trooper was in the process of moving Thorne to a different part of the roadway, where it was safer, so he could do a field sobriety test.
State troopers said Angelicchi had his emergency lights on when he attempted to cross the lanes. Trooper Angelicchi was seriously hurt. The driver of the second car was okay.
Troopers are still investigating the crash