Carnage on Florida roads: Deadly weekend raises concerns about highway safety

After a deadly weekend on Manatee and Sarasota County roads that left at least four dead and three people injured, law enforcement officials are urging drivers to be vigilant.

Between March 22 and March 25, there were at least four traffic-related crashes in Manatee and Sarasota counties with multiple fatalities and injuries, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The crashes, three in Manatee County and one in Sarasota County, appeared to be a part of a trend of fatal traffic crashes in the region during the four days.

Troopers were also investigating two separate hit-and-runs in Collier and Highlands counties that killed two bicyclists. Media reports indicate there were three other vehicle crashes in Pasco, Polk and Hillsborough counties during the same weekend that led to more deaths, including a hit-and-run incident that killed an Alabama man visiting family.

"In all honesty, we have crashes all the time, it's just this weekend we had crashes that rose to the level of individuals losing their life," FHP Trooper Lt. Greg Bueno said.

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Bueno said it's possible that the number of crashes could be because of the influx of visitors in the area, including spring break and peak tourist season.

One local defense attorney thinks the increase could be because of a shortage of troopers on Florida state roads and interstates, spreading troops thin as they react to crashes rather than proactive measures. It's also possible a lack of attentiveness from drivers behind the wheel could be a factor.

Despite the weekend spike, the Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle's crash dashboard indicates that the number of total crashes in Florida has been on a slight decline since 2018.

Yet, roadway fatalities are on the rise. In 2018, there were about 2,917 fatal crashes across the state. In 2023, fatal crashes rose to 3,189.

In 2023, the recorded number of total crashes in Sarasota County was 6,820 with 58 fatalities and 4,026 injuries. The year before that, Sarasota County had 7,067 crashes with the same number of fatalities and slightly more injuries.

Manatee County had 6,414 crashes with 72 fatalities and 4,611 injuries in 2023 and 6,386 crashes with 69 fatalities and 5,095 injuries the year prior.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office had deputies assist with one of the fatal car crashes on March 24 when a single pickup truck overcorrected and hit a guardrail before ejecting both occupants, killing a Sarasota man and injuring the 49-year-old driver.

SCSO spokesperson Dana Judge said in an emailed response to the Herald-Tribune that the Sheriff's Office can't comment about the possible "spike" of crashes that occurred recently as they don't have the data yet.

"There are certainly a lot of vehicles on our roadways this time of year with peak tourist season, so that could potentially be connected," Judge said in the email. "Still, without the data, we cannot say anything for sure."

What we know about the crashes in Manatee, Sarasota counties

Florida Highway Patrol troopers and Sarasota County Sheriff's Office deputies were called to a crash scene on Fruitville Road at Springbrook Farm Road in Sarasota County on March 24, according to a SCSO news release.

The crash occurred around 7:20 p.m. when a pickup truck, driving east on Fruitville Road, drove off the roadway and overcorrected to the left. The truck drove back across the roadway, colliding with the guardrail before overturning onto the north shoulder, according to an FHP release.

Both the driver, a 49-year-old Myakka woman, and the passenger, a 53-year-old Sarasota man, were ejected from the truck due to not wearing seatbelts. The 53-year-old man was transported to an area hospital where he died due to critical injuries, according to the news release.

Earlier morning on March 24 at around 1:52 a.m., troopers were called to a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 75 that left one man dead, and a 23-year-old woman critically injured after a 32-year-old man from Wimauma drove the wrong way on the Interstate.

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Around 12:35 a.m., troopers responded to a single-vehicle crash in Palmetto after a sport utility vehicle collided with a utility pole near I-75 after the truck didn't quite make a curve. The driver, whose identity has not been released pending notification of next of kin, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Troopers are also investigating a hit-and-run in Manatee County that occurred at night on March 22 on State Road 70 near Caruso Road that killed a 28-year-old bicyclist who was crossing within the pedestrian crosswalk and was thrown from his bike due to the impact.

After the collision, the driver of the red sedan fled the scene, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report. The bicyclist sustained serious injuries and was transported to Blake Hospital where he was pronounced dead.

On March 24, the FHP Traffic Homicide Division said it had located and impounded the suspected hit-and-run car from a home in Manatee County. No further details have been released.

Why have there been so many crashes and how can they be prevented

One local defense attorney, who has been practicing in the area for 20 years, raised concerns about road safety due to law enforcement being thinly stretched across the state from having troopers reassigned to different areas within and outside of Florida.

David Haenel, an attorney at The Law Place, said that if law enforcement is stretched thin, there's no proactive enforcement but more reactive measures. He added that troopers are being pulled in a million different directions trying to keep roadways safe.

"What you have is a rise in population since COVID, you have more people moving here, and you have less ability for proactive enforcement because you have fewer troopers available, so this is the effect that we're seeing at least in the Twelfth Judicial Circuit, which is Manatee, Sarasota, and DeSoto counties," Haenel said.

A possible shortage of troopers within Florida wouldn't be a new issue, but one that has plagued the agency for almost two decades, according to previous reporting.

In 2008, a Herald-Tribune article focused on one lawmaker raising concerns about FHP staffing levels following a chain-reaction pileup on Interstate 4 in Polk County that claimed the lives of four people and injured 38 and indicated the agency was dealing with staffing shortages 16 years ago.

The story reported that the number of FHP officers in January 2008 — 1,600, with 150 positions vacant — was roughly the same as a decade ago, when the state had 1,740 troopers.

Currently, FHP is authorized for 1,982 sworn positions and 514 non-sworn positions, according to Bueno. However, it's not clear how many of those positions are currently vacant, and a records request for the information from the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has not yet been returned as of Wednesday.

Gov. Ron DeSantis has committed to sending more Florida law enforcement to Texas to help with the fight against illegal immigration.

At a press conference outside the Florida Department of Law Enforcement office in Pensacola in February, DeSantis announced he was sending 76 FHP troopers and 50 additional members of the Florida National Guard to Texas.

Florida has already deployed over 100 Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicle troopers to the border, along with 200 Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents, more than 700 guardsmen, and 20 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers, according to reporting by the Pensacola News Journal.

Haenel said that despite the governor's efforts with raises and bonuses over the last few years to help with recruiting troopers to Florida, it's not been enough to retain them in the agency.

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"Then they jump ship," Haenel said. "So, you have individuals that really wanted to do traffic enforcement, and the next thing you know, they say, 'I can get a raise of 20K if I jump ship and go to a local Sheriff's Department.'"

While Bueno couldn't comment about whether there is a shortage of troopers in the state, he said that when troopers aren't responding to traffic crashes, they're going out to proactively enforce Florida traffic law.

"That's our duty and what we took a sworn oath to do," Bueno said.

Bueno emphasized that road safety also comes down to the individuals who get behind the wheel.

"What it all comes to is, again, a reminder to all motorists to be responsible behind the wheel, be well rested, sober, distracted-free and abiding by all traffic laws because we have pedestrians, bicyclists and motorcycles all sharing the same roadways, along with 22 million of our other Floridians and millions of visitors from out of state," Bueno said. "So, at the end of the day, we all have to be responsible and on our best behavior and making good choices 100% of the time, anytime driving a vehicle."

Other local agencies also play a part in helping to address road safety, including the Sarasota County Sheriff's Office and the Sarasota Police Department.

SCSO spokesperson Judge said that the department's traffic unit does periodic enforcement projects focused on areas where they have received complaints. She added that SCSO continues to work on several grant-funded projects that allow for extra enforcement within the county, including initiatives focused on construction zones, interstate speeding and aggressive driving.

Bueno said that at the end of the day, law enforcement needs the public's help in keeping Florida roadways safe. This includes having dinner conversations with young drivers about driving safely and holding family members and friends accountable, especially if you're a passenger in the car and notice them texting and driving.

"State troopers can't be everywhere, and, you know, it comes down to, we have a large volume of traffic traveling on all our roads every day," Bueno said. "And we have to take driving seriously ... we want to do everything in our power to mitigate as much as possible."

Gabriela Szymanowska covers the legal system for the Herald-Tribune in partnership with Report for America. You can support her work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America. Contact Gabriela Szymanowska at gszymanowska@gannett.com, or on X: @GabrielaSzyman3.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Deadly weekend on Florida roads leads FHP to caution drivers