DUI Driver Sentenced In Fatal I-75 Crash: FL Troopers

SARASOTA COUNTY, FL — An Ohio man was sentenced Tuesday for driving under the influence during a fatal crash on Interstate 75 in December, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a news release.

Fred Matthew Donaldson, 48, entered a no contest plea and was sentenced to 20.5 years in the state’s Department of Corrections.

Donaldson was impaired in the Dec. 14 two-vehicle crash at mile marker 203 on I-75 in Sarasota County, troopers said.

He was traveling 83 mph while heading north on the highway in his Toyota Camry. He swerved as he approached a Nissan Pathfinder, but still hit the SUV, FHP said.

The impact redirected the SUV off the paved highway and into the grass shoulder, where it hit a tree. The Nissan’s driver and passenger, both visiting from Pensacola, were killed in the crash.

Donaldson’s blood alcohol concentration level at the time of the crash was .180, troopers said.

See Also:

• Missing Paddleboarder Found Dead Near Courtney Campbell Causeway: Tampa Police
• Bradenton Man Tried To Meet 13-Year-Old For Sex: FL Sheriff
• Manatee County’s ‘Monkey Whisperer’ Sentenced For Trafficking Primates: U.S. DOJ
• Man Accused Of Abusing 7-Month-Old Child: Hillsborough Sheriff
• Man Killed In 3-Vehicle Pasco County Crash: FL Troopers