The Mississippi driver of a pickup truck died in a Florida truck accident on Tuesday, according to a statement by the Florida Highway Patrol. The fatal accident occurred on the Interstate 10 bridge over Escambia Bay in Escambia County.
At just before 9 a.m. on November 2, the 54-year-old Mississippi man was driving on the westbound span of the I-10 bridge. A semi tractor-trailer driver had stopped in the emergency lane of the span.
The pickup driver drifted out of his lane and into the emergency lane, causing him to collide head-on with the rear of the semi tractor-trailer.
The Mississippi man was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola for treatment. Unfortunately, he died of his injuries shortly afterward at the hospital. The commercial driver was not injured in the truck accident.
Both of the drivers were said to be wearing seat belts at the time of the accident. The Florida Highway Patrol believes that driver distraction was what caused the pickup driver to drift out of his lane. Alcohol is not believed to have played any role in the fatal truck wreck.
It is not known whether the driver of the pickup truck was using a cell phone while driving or engaging in another activity that may have distracted him from driving. He may simply not have been paying attention, or he may have been too drowsy to drive. Driver distraction, including texting and other cell phone use while driving, are growing causes of car and truck accidents across the United States.
Source: Pensacola News Journal, “Mississippi man dies from I-10 crash injuries,” November 4, 2010
Leave A Comment