Sarasota driver killed in 17th Street crash

Florida Highway Patrol troopers continue to investigate a collision between a car and a tractor-trailer that killed a 66-year-old Sarasota man on Wednesday morning, the FHP reported.

In a report released to the media, the FHP reported the crash took place at 9:50 a.m. at the intersection of 17th Street and Gun Club Road in unincorporated Sarasota County near 17th Street Park.

An initial investigation of the crash indicates the 27-year-old driver of a Freightliner tractor trailer was slowing in the right-turn lane of 17th Street, preparing to turn south on Gun Club Road when his truck was hit from behind by the Sarasota man’s Cadillac sedan.

The driver of the truck, a Myakka City man, was not hurt. The Sarasota man was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

FHP reported both drivers wore seat belts.

In 2022, 62 people were killed in traffic crashes in Sarasota County, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles.