Photos: ACFR releases additional information about accident that closed I-75 for hours on Independence Day

Staff report

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR) has released additional photos of yesterday’s accident at mile marker 389 on southbound I-75 ; the accident closed the interstate for hours while the victim was extricated and HAZMAT crews cleaned up the semi truck’s cargo.

According to a release from the Florida Highway Patrol, at about 10:50 a.m., a 26-year-old man from Doraville, Georgia, was driving southbound near the 390 mile marker of I-75 when a tire malfunction caused him to veer into the path of a semi truck driven by a 39-year-old man from Hyattsville, Maryland.

The driver of the semi took evasive action to avoid hitting the other car, ran off the road, and hit several trees. It took nearly two hours for crews to extricate the driver of the semi, who suffered non-life-threatening injuries, with the “Jaws of Life.” Meanwhile, a UF Health Shandscair helicopter landed on the interstate, resulting in a complete closure for multiple hours.

The Georgia man was uninjured; both drivers were wearing seatbelts.

Units from ACFR and Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to find both vehicles in the tree line with heavy damage. Along with extricating the driver of the semi, crews had to deal with a HAZMAT situation due to the cargo in the trailer of the semi.

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