A man was killed in a multi-vehicle crash that left others with minor injuries and shut down Interstate 75 near Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 25-year-old man from Hialeah was driving a semitruck pulling a flatbed trailer south in the outside lane of I-75 around 3:45 p.m., Wednesday, north of Colonial Boulevard. A dump truck driven by a 38-year-old man from Lehigh Acres was traveling the same direction, directly in front of the semitruck.
Two SUVs also traveling south in the outside lane of I-75 were ahead of the dump truck. A third SUV was traveling south in the outside center lane of I-75.
The semitruck rear-ended the dump truck, causing the dump truck to rear-end the SUV in front of it. The first SUV was sent crashing into the second, and the third was hit by crash debris.
The semitruck driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
As a result of the crash, there was an 8-mile slowdown for much of Wednesday night.
The flatbed truck was hauling a pallet of clay tiles, which were left scattered across the highway.
The scene has since been cleared and all lanes have been reopened, but the crash remains under investigation.