Woman Killed In 4-Car Crash After Exiting Broken-Down Car On I-75: FHP

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — A driver who exited their car when it broke down Monday afternoon on Interstate 75 South near the University Parkway exit was hit and killed in a crash involving three other vehicles, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

The driver, a 25-year-old Bradenton woman, stopped her car in the outside lane of I-75 around 4:30 p.m. when her car had a mechanical issue.

As she stood in the area of the driver's side with the door open, she and her vehicle were hit by a car changing lanes as it traveled south on the interstate, FHP said. She landed on the grass shoulder and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Her passenger, a 9-year-old Bradenton girl, and the driver of the car that hit her, a 20-year-old Sarasota woman, were uninjured in the crash.

After the initial collision, the second car hit the right side of an SUV traveling south on I-75. A fourth vehicle then collided with the rear left side of the car that had broken down, FHP said.

The driver of the SUV, a 40-year-old Naples woman, and her passengers, a 13-year-old girl and 8-year-old girl, both from Naples, were uninjured in the crash. The driver of the fourth vehicle, a 21-year-old Bradenton man, was also uninjured.

The crash remains under investigation, troopers said.