![[04-23-26] Hit-And-Run Suspect Arrested After Deadly Interstate 75 Crash](https://www.727injury.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/04-23-26-Hit-And-Run-Suspect-Arrested-After-Deadly-Interstate-75-Crash.jpg)
Update:
Florida Highway Patrol State Troopers have located and impounded the 2022 Ford Mustang and placed Jonathan Matos Morales, age 18 of Cocoa, Florida, under arrest for Vehicular Homicide and Leaving a Crash Scene Involving Death. Matos Morales has been booked into the Manatee County Jail.
A hit-and-run crash involving three vehicles on Interstate 75 in Manatee County left one person dead and another injured early Monday morning.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occurred at approximately 6:28 a.m. on April 20, 2026, on southbound I-75 near Mile Marker 220, just south of State Road 64.
Investigators say a dark-colored Ford Mustang, described as having louvers on the rear window, was traveling southbound in the left lane when it entered the center lane and struck a Chevy Trailblazer driven by a 63-year-old man from Palmetto. The impact forced the SUV out of its lane and into the right lane, directly into the path of a semi tractor-trailer.
The Trailblazer collided with the semi, causing the truck to veer across all southbound lanes before overturning. The semi came to rest on its side and top, partially in the grass median and blocking all southbound lanes of I-75.
The driver of the semi, a 34-year-old man from New Smyrna Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Trailblazer sustained minor injuries.
Troopers say the Mustang briefly stopped after the crash but then fled southbound on I-75. The vehicle is believed to be a black Ford Mustang with rear window louvers and possibly a stick camera on the rear. The driver is described as a stocky-built male wearing a gray hoodie.
The Florida Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Unit is actively investigating the crash.
Source : IONTB
