TAMPA, Fla. – A 64-year-old Mississippi man was killed when a semitruck lost control early Monday and went into a canal off Interstate 75 in Tampa, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Fire rescue responded around 2:35 a.m. near mile marker 263, where they found the semi over the guard rail and in the Tampa Bypass Canal.
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“Shortly thereafter, however, the front cab became submerged. Multiple HCFR units, including specialty teams, are currently on the scene and actively working to gain access to the submerged cab,” the fire rescue wrote on Facebook.
Troopers said the semitruck collided with a concrete barrier wall and traveled over the wall. The trailer came to a rest hanging from the bridge when the cab separated and fell into the canal.
Divers with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office recovered the driver inside the cab, which was submerged 40 feet below the surface.
Rain in the area and across Central Florida is from bands of Hurricane Debby, which is nearing landfall in the Florida Big Bend region.
This is a developing story and will be updated with more information as we receive it.