TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — A 30-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence after causing a crash that killed a deputy on Interstate 75 in Charlotte County, authorities said.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the unidentified deputy had pulled over a Honda in the northbound lanes of the interstate, just south of U.S. Highway 17.
He had his emergency lights activated and was standing with the driver on the shoulder of the road when a Jeep hit the deputy’s vehicle, the report said.
Troopers said the driver of the Jeep, Cassandra Smith, 30, of Lakeville, Massachusetts, had lost control of her vehicle. It went across the center and right lanes onto the shoulder of the road and hit the rear of the deputy’s vehicle, “which created secondary collisions” with the deputy, the Honda and its driver, the Highway Patrol said.
The deputy suffered significant injuries and was taken to an area hospital and pronounced deceased. The Honda driver was hospitalized with minor injuries.
Troopers said Smith was arrested on a DUI manslaughter charge and was in the process of being booked into the Charlotte County jail.
