DUI Driver Crashes Into State Trooper’s SUV On I-75: FL Highway Patrol

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — A driver suspected of driving under the influence crashed into the back of a state trooper’s patrol vehicle on I-75 in Manatee County early Thursday morning, authorities said.

The trooper was out of his SUV, directing northbound traffic away from the road work crew, when his vehicle was hit by a 25-year-old Ellenton woman just before 3:30 a.m., according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

The woman, who didn’t pay attention to the work zone or the fully marked patrol vehicle, when she drove into the construction zone and continued traveling in the closed lane, the agency said.

The trooper’s SUV was in the shoulder with its emergency lights on at the time of the crash.

During the investigation, troopers saw that the woman was impaired and arrested her for DUI, FHP said. She was brought to Manatee County Jail.