Vehicle flipped into Tampa Bay after crash on Howard Frankland Bridge
TAMPA, Fla. (FOX 13) - Crews are working to recover a vehicle that ended up in the water below the Howard Frankland Bridge after a traffic crash along Interstate 275 this morning.
The Florida Highway Patrol says the crash occurred just after 7 a.m. when a white SUV was driving recklessly as it was traveling southbound on the bridge. The driver changed lanes and into the path of a Ford F-150, driven by a 30-year-old man from Tampa.
The rear of the SUV collided with the front left side of the Ford truck. The SUV rotated and overturned multiple times before flipping over the side of the bridge and into the waters of Tampa Bay.
A Tampa Fire Rescue boat and other marine units have been circling around the waters beneath the bridge. A diver entered the water just after 7:30 a.m. Debris can be seen near the outer barrier of the bridge, and several first responders are seen leaning over the edge and peering into the water.
Troopers say they have now located the SUV in the bay. A crane removed it by 11:15 a.m.
"The occupant(s) have not been located," an FHP spokesman noted.
The driver of the Ford truck was not injured.
Two southbound lanes of I-275 are still closed before the hump.