5 Injured In 7-Vehicle Crash On I-75 In Venice: FL Highway Patrol

VENICE, FL — Five people were injured — two of them seriously — in a seven-vehicle crash on Interstate 75, south of River Road, in Venice Monday morning, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

A 35-year-old man driving a car set off the chain of crashes when he swerved to avoid a tire in the road just before 11 a.m.

He hit the back of a tire company’s car parked on the paved shoulder to change the tire for a disabled SUV, FHP said. He and his passenger, a 34-year-old woman, both of Punta Gorda, were both seriously injured in the crash and brought to Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

A pickup truck behind him, driven by an 18-year-old Punta Gorda man, also swerved to avoid the debris and hit the back and left side of an SUV. The truck’s driver suffered minor injuries in the crash.

A second SUV suddenly stopped following the crash, and a third SUV behind it hit the back of it.

The third SUV’s driver, a 31-year-old Cape Coral man, suffered minor injuries in the crash.

A fourth SUV, a 66-year-old Punta Gorda woman, also failed to stop and hit the back of the third SUV. The woman also suffered minor injuries in the crash.

The crash remains under investigation.