TAMPA, Fla. – A four-vehicle collision shut down the southbound lanes of Interstate 275 on the Howard Frankland Bridge for roughly two hours late Thursday morning, sending two drivers to the hospital.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occurred around 11:10 a.m. as a 42-year-old St. Petersburg man driving a Toyota Tundra entered southbound I-275 from State Road 589/State Road 60 at the bridge approach. For reasons still unknown, the driver lost control of the pickup truck, veered onto the shoulder, and slammed into a crash attenuator.
The force of the impact spun the truck into the southbound travel lanes of I-275. A Chevy Silverado, driven by a 71-year-old St. Petersburg man, struck the spinning Tundra, causing the Tundra to overturn. The impact also scattered construction debris across the highway, which was then struck by a trailing Dodge Ram van and a Ford Bronco.
Emergency responders transported the 42-year-old driver to a local hospital with serious injuries. The 71-year-old driver of the Silverado was also hospitalized with minor injuries.
The occupants of the other two vehicles—a 30-year-old male driver and his 30-year-old male passenger in the Dodge Ram van, along with a 31-year-old female driver in the Ford Bronco, all from Tampa—were uninjured…