North Port man killed in collision with semi on Interstate 75

A North Port man was killed Friday night when a pickup collided with a semi tractor-trailer on Interstate 75 in Sarasota County.

Timothy Forrester, 57, died at the scene of the 9:07 p.m. crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The accident forced the closure of northbound lanes of I-75 for several hours.

Forrester was a passenger in a 2005 Ford F150 driven by 50-year-old Bradley Demorrow of Port Charlotte, who has been cited for careless driving, the FHP said.

Demorrow was flown by helicopter to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton and was listed in critical condition Saturday.

The FHP reports that Demorrow was traveling in the outside northbound lane at mile marker 181, about a mile south of Sumter Boulevard, behind a slower-moving Freightliner semi tractor-trailer.

Demorrow lost control of his vehicle after the right front of the pickup struck the left rear of the trailer, which was being towed by a truck driver from Homestead, according to the FHP.

The pickup then rotated clockwise, overturned and came to a rest facing northwest on its roof, blocking the inside and center lanes of northbound I-75, the FHP said.

The semi driver was not injured.

Alcohol was not a factor, and seat belts were in use, the FHP said.

This story was originally published September 23, 2017 at 10:32 AM with the headline "North Port man killed in collision with semi on Interstate 75."