Sunday morning crash kills 18-year-old on Interstate 75

A single-car crash in Interstate 75 just south of Clark Road on Sunday morning killed the 18-year-old Charlotte County man behind the wheel, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Image courtesy of Florida Highway Patrol

No one else was hurt in the 6 a.m. crash that prompted investigators to close a southbound lane of the highway for about two hours.

According to the FHP, the 2012 Ford Fusion driven by the 18-year-old was heading south on the highway in the middle lane when it swerved left to avoid a vehicle directly ahead. The Ford veered into the left lane, spun across all three southbound lanes and the paved shoulder and hit a light pole in the grass just off the pavement.

The driver, whose relatives have been notified but had not been publicly identified, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The crash remains under investigation, the Highway Patrol said.

According to Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, 14 people have died in 14 traffic incidents in Sarasota County in 2026. In all of 2025, 39 people were killed in 37 crashes on the road in the county.