LOCAL

Another car drives off I-75 into Paynes Prairie

Eight passengers rescued from SUV's roof

Daniel Smithson
daniel.smithson@gvillesun.com
Using a ladder truck, Alachua County firefighters rescued eight people whose vehicle left Interstate 75 and became partially submerged in Paynes Prairie Sunday morning. [ACFR via Facebook]

Yet another vehicle ended up in Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park on Sunday, after the driver of the sport utility vehicle drove off Interstate 75 and into the prairie's dark, murky water.

Alachua County Fire Rescue responded to the single-car crash at about 2 a.m., according to a news release posted to the agency's Facebook page.

The responding fire units found the SUV upright, about 50 feet out from I-75 and in 4 feet of water. On top of the vehicle were eight passengers.

Assistant Chief Larry Stewart said the passengers weren't panicking but they were "very distressed."

"It’s a swamp, and they're on top of the roof," Stewart said. "They were not happy."

And for good reason, Stewart said.

He said the water at Paynes Prairie is like mud and if they tried to swim to the road, they might not have made it.

Rescue crews quickly requested a ladder truck to help passengers off the car and back onto the roadway, according to the release.

The passengers were brought to UF Health Shands Hospital, where they were treated for minor injuries.

The scene was cleared about 3:51 a.m., Stewart said.

Sunday’s accident isn’t an unfamiliar sight.

Over the last two years, several cars have plunged off I-75 or U.S. 441 into the prairie, and three motorists have died after becoming submerged in its water.

The prairie's waterline rose and has not returned to normal after heavy rains from Hurricane Irma in September 2017. On U.S. 441, two lanes were closed for months.

Local officials have suggested in the past that guard rails could help keep drivers safe and out of the water while traveling across the prairie.

According to Florida Department of Transportation spokesperson Tracy Hisler-Pace, that may happen.

Hisler-Pace said Monday that FDOT’s District 2 Traffic Operations department recently completed a traffic study in the area, and Friday, sent a request to its headquarters in Tallahassee, seeking funding for guard rails along the segments of I-75 and U.S. 441 that run through the prairie.

Hisler-Pace said the request, along with the completed traffic study, would be reviewed by officials in Tallahassee and at the Federal Highway Administration.

She said the guard rail-funding request could take up to two months to be approved.

“It looks like it’s moving forward,” Hisler-Pace said. “But you don’t know what’s going to come from it. We are hopeful that this will be funded.”

It's unclear whether speed was a factor in the Sunday morning accident.

Alachua County Sheriff's Sgt. Brett Rhodenizer said there were sheriff's deputies on scene assisting with traffic but the crash investigation is in the hands of the Florida Highway Patrol.

FHP officials could not be reached Monday afternoon.