MULBERRY, Fla. — A 40-year-old Mulberry man is dead after the car he was driving was hit by a semi-truck in Polk County, the sheriff's office said in a release.
The crash happened Thursday just after 4 p.m. on SR 37 South in front of Bay Port Valve and Fitting in Mulberry.
According to deputies, the 60-year-old semi-truck driver didn't notice a pickup truck stopped in the roadway trying to make a left turn into the business.
The truck driver applied his emergency brakes, causing the semi to start to jackknife and slide with its 53-foot trailer.
The pickup truck driver was able to quickly accelerate into the business parking lot to avoid being hit by the semi.
The semi continued to slide into the northbound lane of SR-37 and into the path of a silver 2016 Kia Optima driven by 40-year-old Johny Sanabria of Mulberry.
Deputies said that while Sanabria tried to get out of the way and avoid being hit by the semi, he was unable to. A photo released by the sheriff's office shows the driver's side of Sanabria's car destroyed. The front side of the semi-truck also sustained serious damage.
As a result of the crash, Sanabria died at the scene.
No other injuries were reported by the sheriff's office. The road was shut down temporarily on Thursday but has since reopened to traffic. Deputies say the investigation is ongoing.
