A 68-year-old Bradenton man died Saturday after his SUV left the road and struck a tree in Sarasota County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The man was driving a blue Chevrolet Traverse north on Saddle Creek Trail, north of State Road 72, also known as Clark Road, about 12:45 p.m. Oct. 17 when he may have experienced a medical episode, troopers said.
The SUV veered right, left the roadway and struck a ditch and a tree, according to FHP. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The crash remains under investigation.
Florida’s 2026 crash statistics
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports there were 270,463 crashes in Florida through Oct. 8, 2026, including 1,893 fatalities.
The department’s Florida Crash Dashboard also reported 173,852 injuries,
1,758 fatal crashes and 116,223 injury crashes statewide during the same period.
Wade Tatangelo is the executive editor of the Sarasota Herald-Tribune and Florida dining and entertainment editor for the USA TODAY Network. Follow him on Facebook, Instagram, and X. He can be reached by email at wade.tatangelo@heraldtribune.com. Support local journalism by subscribing.
This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: 68-year-old man dies after SUV crashes into tree in Sarasota County
