TAMPA, Fla. — Three people are in the hospital after an impaired driver struck the back of a Florida Highway Patrol car that was parked inside a construction zone in Tampa, according to a news release.
The crash happened around 4:43 a.m. Saturday when a 24-year-old driver of a Kia Forte going north on Interstate 275, south of Interstate 4, drove into an active construction zone.
FHP said the zone had been marked by traffic cones and arrow boards, which signaled that the left lanes were closed. The trooper inside a marked patrol car with emergency lights activated had been assisting workers.
The driver of the Kia reportedly drove over the traffic cones, entered the work zone, struck an arrow board and finally struck the rear of the FHP patrol car.
The trooper suffered severe injuries and was taken to a local hospital. The driver, a Lakeland man, and his passenger, a 25-year-old Ocala woman, were also seriously hurt and taken to the hospital.