Flatbed Tow Truck Crashes Into Toll Plaza On Polk Parkway

LAKELAND, FL — A flatbed tow truck caused a Sunpass lane to be shut down for hours Wednesday morning as the truck crashed into a toll plaza along Polk Parkway.

The truck driver told Florida Highway Patrol troopers that he thought he struck something along the road as he approached the toll plaza.

The driver told troopers "he believed he struck something else in the roadway, looked for the item and subsequently crashed into the attenuator along the left side of the Sunpass lane," according to FHP.

Florida Highway Patrol reported that the tow truck went on to strike a concrete barrier wall before becoming disabled around 6:20 a.m. west of State Road 540.

FHP said the Sunpass lane had to be shut down for about four hours as a result of the crash.

The driver was identified as 28-year-old Timothy D. Johnson of Gibsonton, Florida. He suffered minor injuries but was not taken to the hospital, according to FHP.