New Tampa Woman Dead in Fatal Wrong-Way Crash

A 25-year-old New Tampa woman died following a wrong-way crash on Interstate 75 Monday morning.

The Florida Highway Patrol has identified Jessica Rey Mahn as the driver of a Nissan that was heading northbound in the southbound lanes.

The incident unfolded around 4:35 a.m. when the Florida Highway Patrol began receiving reports of a wrong-way driver traveling northbound in the southbound lanes just north of State Road 52, Sgt. Steve Gaskins said in an email to media. A 2012 Nissan was in the inside lane, which was also occupied by a tractor trailer hauling beverages, Gaskins said.

“When the commercial driver observed the oncoming vehicle he attempted to avoid a collision by moving to the outside lane,” Gaskins said. The driver, however, was not successful and the Nissan collided with the left side of the truck.

After the crash, the tractor trailer came to a controlled stop, but the Nissan went into the median and onto a concrete barrier wall. Mahn was taken to Bayonet Point Medical Center, but later died from her injuries.

The truck’s driver, Slawomir Plonski, 42, of Port St. Lucie was injured.

The crash has closed the southbound lanes of I-75 for several hours.

This is the second wrong-way incident in two days in the Bay area. On Sunday, a Chamberlain High School teacher was involved in an incident in Hillsborough County.

Photo credit: A picture of the crash courtesy of the Florida Highway Patrol

See Also:

• Chamberlain Teacher Involved in Wrong-Way Driving Incident