HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The aftermath of a crash involving a Hillsborough County deputy on Interstate 4 resulted in a separate crash with an FDOT Road Ranger, the Florida Highway Patrol said. A St. Pete man was arrested for DUI following the second crash.
The initial crash happened shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday on I-4 east of Branch Forbes Road. Multiple cars were stopped in traffic. The Hillsborough County deputy was reportedly responding to a call and had the emergency lights activated on his Chevy Tahoe.
As the deputy's cruiser approached a group of cars caught in traffic, the driver of a Dodge Challenger made a "sudden lane change" and collided with the deputy's cruiser. As a result, the Challenger driver rotated and hit three other vehicles.
The deputy's cruiser hit the back of a tractor-trailer and came to a stop.
The Challenger driver was reportedly ejected from their car but suffered non-life-threatening injuries. He was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The deputy was also hurt from "non-incapacitating injuries" and taken to the hospital.
Because of the crash, the westbound lanes of I-4 were shut down. The interstate reopened around 2 a.m.
However, before that, at around 1:45 a.m., 24-year-old Vladislav Sushchik of St. Pete was driving his Lexus ES300h westbound on I-4 toward the original crash site and road closure.
At the same time, a Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) Road Ranger was parked within the closure with emergency lights and an arrow board activated. The road was closed via cones and electronic road flares.
FHP says Sushchik drove through the cones and hit the rear of the Road Ranger.
Sushchik had minor injuries as a result and was taken to the hospital. He was later arrested for DUI and driving while his license was suspended from a previous DUI arrest.
The Road Ranger driver, a 44-year-old man from Wimauma, was also hurt but was not taken to the hospital.
Recent data released by AAA revealed that over the last six years, 123 roadside workers were killed while doing their jobs.