Florida highway closed for hours after dump truck driver leaves bed raised, slams into bridge

By Dacia Johnson

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    SUMTER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — A dump truck driver slammed into a bridge early Monday morning, forcing a full closure of the northbound lanes of Interstate 75 for nearly seven hours.

Florida Highway Patrol said it happened at 1:20 a.m. at milepost 333.5 in Sumter County.

The driver “inadvertently left the dump bed in a raised position and while passing under the CR-475 overpass the bed struck the overpass,” FHP said.

The bed of the truck sheared off and was lodged under the overpass while the truck itself continued to its final rest just north of the impact point, FHP said.

The driver, a 56-year-old Ocala man, was not injured in the crash, FHP said.

FDOT engineers arrived to inspect the overpass and the highway was cleared at approximately 8:15 a.m., FHP said.

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