Why was the CR 475 overpass closed over I-75 Monday morning?

Yahoo

18-03-2025

WILDWOOD — A highway overpass is undergoing repairs because of a collision that gridlocked traffic on Monday morning, March 17.
County Road 475 is one of the most scenic two-lane highways running north and south through Marion and Sumter counties, past farms and horse ranches.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a dump truck driver inadvertently left the bed in a raised position while passing under the CR-475 overpass, and the truck bed struck the overpass.
Why would that happen? A raised dump truck bed increases the height and center of gravity of the vehicle, and uneven terrain or an improperly aligned truck can cause the vehicle to tip over, according to the National Safety Council (NSC).
That's what happened in the northbound lanes of I-75 in Sumter County at 1:20 a.m.
A 56-year-old Ocala man was driving northbound on I-75 near the 333.5 milepost, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The bed of his dump truck sheared off and became lodged under the overpass while the truck itself continued a few hundred feet to its final rest just north of the impact point.
No injuries were reported by the driver. Florida Department of Transportation engineers arrived to inspect the overpass, and the highway was cleared at around 8:15 a.m.
The FHP told the Daily Commercial that the dump truck driver was charged with careless driving.
Motorists detoured using U.S. 301 to County Road 484 to drive east-west.
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"We don't have a timeline for the repairs yet," a spokesperson for FDOT told the Daily Commercial.
"The repairs will be designed, then constructed, and that process typically takes weeks or months depending on the extent of the damage. In the meantime, it's safe to use the overpass, and both lanes are open. The shoulder is closed at this time."
Florida is among the three states with the most serious truck accidents, according to the National Safety Council (NSC).
Dump truck accidents are not uncommon in Florida because they can cause both primary and secondary accidents.
In January, a woman was killed in a head-on crash involving a dump truck in Lake County, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.
The crash happened at the intersection of County Road 439 and County Road 44A. A dump truck driver, a Leesburg man, 28, was not injured, but the 23-year-old Altoona woman driving the Toyota was transported to Waterman Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
"Despite the massive size and weight, dump trucks are used to make repeated trips between construction sites, suppliers and waste drop-off points," a spokesperson at Ansara Law Group explained in a 2021 report.
"Repeated trips increase the potential for collisions. Drivers are often under significant pressure to get the job done, leading to dangerous actions behind the wheel, including speed, distraction, and aggressive driving."
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: CR 475 overpass damaged by dump truck bed