Details Emerge In Fatal Lithia Pinecrest Road Crash

Lithia, FL -- A 45-year-old Lithia man is dead following a late Tuesday morning crash on Lithia Pinecrest Road.

According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the accident happened around 11:55 a.m. when a 2007 Chevrolet Impala driven by Shereen E. Aziz, 45, of Ruskin pulled onto Lithia Pinecrest Road from a private driveway.

Aziz, the sheriff’s office wrote in an email to media, failed to notice a Freightliner tractor trailer pulling a trailer loaded with a railroad rail car that was headed east on Lithia Pinecrest at 45 mph.

Shawn Howard, 40, of Jacksonville was behind the wheel of the tractor trailer. Deputies say Howard tried to avoid hitting the Impala and veered left. When he “corrected to pull back into his lane of travel, the rail car separated from the trailer,” the email said.

The rail car ended up hitting a 2001 Dodge 2500 truck, pulling an enclosed trailer. The Dodge was driven by Michael Warren Liverett, 45, of Lithia. Liverett was trapped inside his truck following the collision and was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

No other injuries were reported.

As of 4:40 p.m., the sheriff’s office said Lithia Pinecrest Road between Tuten Loop and Albritton Road would likely remain closed for a few more hours. Heavy equipment needs to be transported to the scene to remove the tractor trailer and the rail car.

Charges are pending the outcome of the sheriff’s office investigation. Drugs and alcohol are not believed to be factors in the crash, the sheriff’s office noted.

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