Crime & Safety
Bus Crash Snarls Eastbound I-4 Traffic
Eastbound lanes of I-4 were closed Monday morning, and then re-opened shortly after 1 p.m.
Shortly after 11 a.m. Monday morning, Dec. 3, a bus crashed and forced the closure of all eastbound lanes of Interstate 4 near the juntion with Interstate 75.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the crash occured at 11:09 a.m. A bus owned by First Baptist Church of College Hill, of Tampa, was traveling eastbound on I-4 in the center lane when the driver, Martin Rufus Silas Jr. of Taylor Road in Seffner, lost control of the bus due "to a medical event," FHP said.
According to a media release from FHP, "the bus veered to the left, then right until the bus collided with a crash attenuator located at the entrance ramp to the eastbound FDOT weigh station."
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After the crash, the bus caught fire and the driver suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash. He was taken to Tampa General Hospital.
The crash closed the eastbound lanes of I-4 from the I-75 junction.
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Shortly after 1 p.m., all lanes on I-4 were re-opened. However, traffic remained backed up throughout the area.
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