JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A South Florida man is recovering at a Jacksonville hospital Thursday after being involved in a semi-truck collision off Interstate 10 Wednesday night, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
FHP says at 9:07 p.m., an unidentified 35-year-old Clermont, Florida man was stopped in the "gore area" of the eastbound exit ramp from I-10 to State Road 23. FHP also says the 57-year-old South Florida man from Hialeah, was traveling eastbound in the right lane on the interstate, approaching the idle semi-truck. Both men were driving semi-trucks, according to the crash report.
The Clermont man had stopped to inspect his semi-truck for a possible tire issue before the collision and after seeing no problem, the man attempted to pull back into the right eastbound lane on I-10, but failed to see the Hialeah man approaching with his semi-truck, the report states.
The Hialeah man was traveling "at highway speeds," attempted to brake and steered left to avoid the "slower moving" other semi-truck, but was unsuccessful, the report states. The front of the semi-truck driven by the Hialeah man, struck the rear of the other semi-truck and caused heavy damage to both vehicles, the report states. The report further states that on impact, the semi-truck driven by the Hialeah man, became wedged underneath the rear of the other semi-truck and remained there as both vehicles came to rest to block all I-10 eastbound lanes.
The Hialeah man was taken to UF Health Jacksonville with serious injuries while the Clermont man did not suffer any injuries, the crash report states.
