TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A central Florida man was accused of driving drunk and causing a fatal crash at the Citrus-Marion County line on Sunday afternoon.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), a Ford F150 was spotted passing cars on the shoulder of North Carl G. Rose Parkway (State Road 200) before it merged back into traffic.
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The pickup hit the back of a Honda Accord in the southbound lanes near East Spruce Drive, sending it across the roadway. It struck a bridge rail at the Withlacoochee River and hit a second Ford F150 in the northbound lanes.
The driver of the Honda Accord, identified as a 62-year-old man from Lecanto, died at the hospital. The second Ford F150 driver, a 42-year-old man from Beverly Hills, suffered minor injuries in the crash.
The driver who caused the initial crash, Robert Brandon Vanzant, 31, of Lady Lake, was accused of speeding off to a nearby gas station, where he abandoned the pickup. Citrus County deputies later found him in a nearby pasture, according to FHP.