A crash involving a van and a semi-truck overturned both vehicles Thursday morning on Interstate 75 in southern Sarasota County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened at about 10:28 a.m. in the southbound lanes of I-75 just north of mile marker 174, roughly five miles north of the Toledo Blade Boulevard exit (Exit 179) in the North Port area and several miles south of the Sumter Boulevard exit.
According to FHP, a 2007 Ford van driven by a 62-year-old Tampa man was traveling south in the right lane below the interstate's minimum speed. A 48-year-old Tampa woman was riding as a passenger.
A 2010 Freightliner semi-truck with a trailer, driven by a 46-year-old Miami man, was traveling behind the van in the same lane.
Troopers
said the semi driver was unable to stop in time as the van continued to slow, causing the front of the truck to strike the rear of the van.
The impact sent the van off the right side of the interstate, where it overturned in the grassy shoulder. The semi also left the roadway, rotated clockwise and overturned in the grass shoulder, according to FHP.
The van came to rest on its roof facing south, while the semi came to rest on its left side, also facing south.
The Florida Highway Patrol did not immediately release information on injuries. The crash remains under investigation.
Florida’s 2026 crash statistics
The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reports there were 201,378 crashes in Florida through July 30, 2026, including 1,470 fatalities.
The department’s Florida Crash Dashboard also reported 129,950 injuries, 1,362 fatal crashes and 86,601 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: Semi, van overturn in I-75 crash in Sarasota County
