Riverview Man KIlled In I-275 Crash In Pinellas

PINELLAS COUNTY, FL -- A 52-year-old Riverview man was killed in a three-car crash Friday afternoon, Oct. 5, on Interstate 275 in Pinellas County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to troopers, Menihla D. Johnson, 17, of St. Petersburg was driving an Infiniti G35 north on I-275 in the center lane near the 21 mile marker.

Marco Gonzalez-Vargas of Riverview was traveling in a truck adjacent to Johnson when the two collided. Both vehicles left the road and entered the center median where Johnson collided with a tree and Gonzalez-Vargas collided with the center guardrail and overturned. The truck continued sliding into the southbound lanes of I-275, spilling the dirt it was hauling across the road before colliding with a BMW driven by Lesley Anne Cooper, 62, of St. Petersburg.

Gonzalez-Vargas was taken to the hospital where he died of his injuries.

Johnson and her two 7-year-old passengers sustained minor injuries. Cooper and her 17-year-old passenger were not injured.

Images via FHP

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