Vehicle collides with tree on Natures Way

Emergency services personnel and members of the East Manatee Fire Rescue responded to a crash that occurred near intersection of Lakewood Ranch Blvd. and Nature's Way around 8:48 a.m. this morning.

A sedan crashed head-on with a tree, after it side-swiped another vehicle.

Florida Highway Patrol spokesperson Lt. Conner Cardwell said driver Kathleen Sweeney making a right-hand turn from Lakewood Ranch Boulevard onto Nature's Way, and another vehicle, driven by Benjamin Cohen, was stopped at Natures Way, facing north.

Sweeney's turn went wide, passing Cohen's vehicle on the other side of the road. Her vehicle sideswiped's Cohen's and she continued south on Natures Way before her vehicle collided head-on with a tree.

Medics and fire department staff were still on scene around 9:05 a.m., with a firetruck parked in the westbound lane of Nature's Way, across from the Neal Communities' building. Sweeney could be scene sitting in her vehicle.

Cardwell said Cohen suffered no injuries, and Sweeney may have had injuries, although none were confirmed, according to a report.

Contact Pam Eubanks at [email protected].