NORTH PORT (WSNN) – A woman was airlifted with serious injuries when an RV was totaled after crashing on I-75 in Sarasota County.
An RV is sliced in half after swerving off I-75 as it was traveling northbound approaching the Toledo Blade Blvd exit in North Port. It happened a little after 11 Wednesday morning.
“It’s completely sheared off,” Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Kenn Watson said.
Watson says it was due to a flat tire on the front right side of the vehicle.
“The operator of the mobile home was not able to safely control that vehicle as it veered off of the roadway into the grassy shoulder and it struck one of the large pine trees, literally shaving that vehicle in half,” Watson said.
The driver, a 49-year-old man, had minor injuries. But the passenger, a 44-year-old woman, was airlifted to Sarasota Memorial Hospital with serious injuries.
The RV was towing a motorcycle and a jeep; both were damaged. North Port Police officers were redirecting traffic in the area. Could this have been avoided?
“When you have a high-profile vehicle like an RV mobile home, always make sure that the tread on the tires is good,” Watson said. “Also, make sure they’re properly inflated.”
If you get a flat tire with a vehicle as large as this one, Watson has some safety tips.
“You want to go ahead and maintain control of that steering wheel and gently guide that vehicle to the shoulder,” Watson said. “Making any quick movements with that steering wheel will only exacerbate those problems causing that vehicle to lose control and then strike trees.”
The scene was cleared more than six hours after the crash.
