COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — A fatal crash on Saturday spilled about 100 gallons of paint onto Interstate 75, authorities said.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, a paint-stripping truck driven by a 25-year-old North Carolina woman was traveling northbound on I-75 in Collier County at about 3:30 a.m.
At the same time, a road ranger service truck was stopped on the northbound lane of I-75 at mile-marker 108, assisting with the temporary lane closure of the left northbound travel lane. An unoccupied, disabled Toyota Corolla was in the northbound, inside lane and left shoulder of I-75 and was being loaded onto a tow truck. There were traffic cones, and the road ranger truck had its emergency lights activated, the report stated.
A Collier County Sheriff’s Office vehicle also was stopped on the northbound lane of I-75.
The front of the paint-stripping truck then slammed into the back of the road ranger vehicle, which caused a chain reaction of impacts between all four vehicles, the report stated.
The female driver was taken to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
The occupants of the road ranger truck and sheriff’s office vehicle suffered minor injuries.
About 100 gallons of pain was spilled onto I-75 because of the collision, the report stated.
The crash remains under investigation.
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