Deadly Bartow semi-truck crash under investigation
BARTOW, Fla. - A Lakeland man died Tuesday morning when investigators say he didn’t see a semi-tractor trailer on State Road 60 and ended up crashing into it.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office said the driver of a Peterbilt semi-truck pulled into the Henry Company’s east side parking lot at 2710 State Road 60 just west of Bartow and slept overnight in his rig.
Shortly before 5:45 a.m., deputies say employees at the business woke him up and asked him to go to the west side of the business to offload his tanker filled with mineral spirits.
Investigators say the driver exited the lot and crossed the eastbound lanes of State Road 60, then used the center median to make a U-turn to go back into the business parking lot on the west side.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating a deadly crash blocking the eastbound side of State Road 60 near Bartow on Tuesday morning.
As he was crossing back over the eastbound lanes and entering the lot, investigators say a 73-year-old Lakeland man in a Dodge Ram Pickup truck was traveling eastbound on State Road 60 and didn’t see the semi-truck.
According to PCSO, the pickup truck went completely under the semi-trailer and came out the other side, killing the driver instantly.
The semi-truck driver was not injured.
The crash is under investigation.
The road was closed for approximately four hours but has since reopened.
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