LITHIA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said a person died early Thursday morning after their vehicle hit an 11-foot alligator in the middle of a road and overturned into a ditch.
According to authorities, the crash happened on eastbound CR-672, two miles west of CR-39, at 12:30 a.m. Deputies were called to the scene after a passing driver saw the car in the ditch and called 911.
RECOMMENDED: Alligator crossing road causes deadly crash, FHP says
The front of the victim's vehicle hit the alligator, veered off the road and overturned into a ditch, HCSO said.
The driver, later identified as 59-year-old John Hopkin, was pronounced dead at the scene.
The alligator also died in the crash, HCSO said.
