Four car crashes closed down Interstate 75 Thursday afternoon for about two hours at the 403-mile marker.
The crashes followed each other in a sequence of events, said Patrick Riordan, spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol. He said he is unsure when the crashes all occurred and what caused the first crash but believes the other three were linked to the first.
The first crash occurred at 3:31 p.m. and involved a semi-truck and Dodge pickup truck, and the second involved two semi-trucks, Riordan said. The third crash was between a Dodge truck and a white Nissan. He said he didn’t know what vehicles or how many were involved in the fourth crash.
Passengers suffered minor injuries, said Sgt. Frank Kinsey, spokesperson for the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. Riordan said no one involved in the crashes was taken to a hospital.
Emergency vehicles were on the scene from 3:39 p.m. until about 5:45 p.m. Kinsey said. Vehicles were towed off of the roadway.
FHP is investigating the crash, according to a statement from the Alachua Police Department.
The Florida Department of Transportation directed traffic off of I-75, and access to the road was closed until after 5:40 p.m., Kinsey said.
This is a developing story, please stay tuned for updates.
Contact Lucille Lannigan at llannigan@alligator.org. Follow her on Twitter @LucilleLannigan.
Lucy is a senior journalism major and the metro editor for The Alligator. She has previously served as a news assistant and the East Gainesville reporter for the metro desk as well as the health and environment reporter on the university desk. When she’s not doing journalism you can find her painting or spending time outside.
