Drunk wrong-way driver causes head-on I-75 crash in Manatee County, troopers say
A suspected drunk driver going the wrong way on Interstate 75 caused a four-vehicle crash in Manatee County early Thursday morning that seriously injured two people, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Troopers said the crash happened around 4 a.m. near mile marker 228 when 45-year-old Luis Alfredo Manzoni Diez, of Palm Beach, drove south in the northbound lanes of I-75 and hit a pickup truck head-on.
The pickup’s driver, a 58-year-old woman from Port Charlotte, and her female passenger were taken to the hospital with serious injuries, troopers said.
Two other vehicles collided with debris from the crash. A sedan driven by a 39-year-old man from Port Charlotte veered into the median and hit a cable barrier, resulting in minor injuries. A 60-year-old man from Indianapolis driving a pickup truck also hit debris but was not hurt, according to troopers.
Troopers said Manzoni Diez’s blood alcohol content was 0.158, nearly twice the legal limit of 0.08. They arrested him on suspicion of DUI and booked him into the Manatee County Jail, where he remains in custody. Manzoni Diez is charged with DUI with serious bodily injury to another and reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, according to the sheriff’s office website. His bond is set at $5,000.
The crash remains under investigation, according to FHP.
This story was originally published April 24, 2025 at 1:00 PM.
