1 Killed, 9 Injured In 5-Vehicle Crash In Sarasota County Crash: FHP

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — A five-vehicle crash in Sarasota County left one person dead and nine people injured Tuesday afternoon, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

A 38-year-old Mississippi man was driving a car south in the right turn lane of U.S. 301, north of Northgate Boulevard, when he failed to stop for a red light around 1:45 p.m., the agency said.

He hit an SUV driven by a 30-year-old Parrish woman that was heading east on Northgate Boulevard at the intersection of U.S. 301, FHP said. This caused the SUV to rotate multiple times.

The car continued south into the intersection and overturned, hitting an SUV driven by a 72-year-old South Carolina woman. This propelled the second SUV backward, causing it to hit the front of another SUV driven by a South Carolina man whose age is unknown, FHP said.

As the car continued to overturn, it also hit the back of a fourth SUV, driven by a 77-year-old Sarasota man.

The passenger of the first SUV that was hit, a 71-year-old Bradenton woman, was pronounced dead at the scene by Sarasota County EMS, FHP said. The driver and another passenger in that vehicle, a 2-year-old from Bradenton, were seriously injured.

The driver of the car that set off the chain of crashes was seriously injured and his passenger, a 39-year-old Sarasota woman, is in critical condition.

The drivers of the second and third SUVs hit, as well as the passenger of the third SUV, a South Carolina woman whose age is unknown, were seriously injured in the crash.

The driver of the fourth SUV involved and his passenger, a 36-year-old Sarasota man, suffered minor injuries.

The FHP Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating.