PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla — A St. Peterburg man was arrested on drunk driving charges after causing life-threatening injuries in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 275.
Rontonio Scott, 49, was charged with DUI serious bodily injury and DUI property damage on Jan. 5
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), he was driving the wrong way northbound in the southbound lanes of Interstate 275 in Pinellas County at about 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 5 when he caused a head-on crash involving three other vehicles.
At the hospital, medical staff told FHP that Scott had an "unlawful blood alcohol content that was significantly high", an FHP report stated.
One victim of the crash suffered fractures to his pelvis, femur, and ankle and had significant damage to his liver, and had emergency surgery to remove his spleen, FHP officials said. Medical staff stated that the victim was at a “substantial risk of death,” the report stated.
The crash caused about $250,000 in property damage, FHP officials said.
Scott had a prior DUI conviction in 2018 in Pinellas County, the report showed.
A few days after the crash, a viewer emailed ABC Action News asking if the state's wrong-way detection system worked in this crash. On Monday, FDOT confirmed it did.
"I do know our operators were notified the alarm went off as soon as the person went up the wrong way. That's correct," said FDOT District 7 Spokesperson Kris Carson.
Carson spoke to us from FDOT's headquarters, where she showed us the traffic management center. The center is staffed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Employees monitor dozens of live traffic cameras, and Carson said an alarm is triggered the moment a person drives up a ramp with a wrong-way detection system.
"When a wrong-way driver alert goes off, they are notified immediately. They can put out the message boards immediately, and FHP is notified immediately, and our road rangers are notified it's a very instantaneous situation," Carson said. "Not every incident can we get those signs up as quickly as possible because unfortunately someone may go up a ramp and hit someone right away."
In fact, data from the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles shows that from January 2024 through September 2024, there were 73 wrong-way crashes in the Tampa Bay area alone.
"It's a deterrence. There are countermeasures to help prevent wrong-way driving, but they aren't 100% going to stop every incident that's where driver behavior comes in," she added.
Carson, along with FHP, is offering tips should you come across a warning sign that a wrong-way driver could be headed your way:
- Remain alert at all times when on the highways – do not drive distracted so you can see impending hazards of any type.
- Always use your seatbelt and keep everyone in the vehicle restrained at all times.
- On divided highways, travel in the far-right lane, especially at night. The motto is “Stay Right at Night,” as impaired drivers often confuse the roadway and believe they are traveling in the “correct” right lane.
- If you observe a wrong-way driver alert on the highway message boards that is due to other motorists reporting a wrong-way incident or the FDOT detection devices sensing wrong-way motion, use heightened caution. Or exit the roadway if you determine that is a safer option.
- If you encounter a wrong-way driver, immediately reduce your speed and steer to the shoulders of the roadway. This will reduce the force of impact should a crash occur and eliminate a head-on collision in favor of a glancing blow.
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