Driver Hits Patrol Car on I-75 Near North Port, Trucker Dies

A North Port police officer escaped injury Wednesday night when a driver crashed into his patrol car as the officer assisted victims of an earlier wreck on Interstate 75. The secondary collision killed a truck driver involved in the initial incident.

The crash occurred just before 9 p.m. on Sept. 17, 2026. The officer had stopped on I-75 near North Port to help individuals from a previous crash. While the officer's emergency lights flashed and he was outside his vehicle attending to victims, another driver failed to move over and struck the patrol car.

"Luckily, the officer was outside his vehicle," said Brittany Kammerer, North Port Police Department public information officer. "He was rendering aid to somebody, so he was outside the vehicle and away from it when it occurred."

The truck driver, who was part of the initial incident, died in the secondary collision. The officer, not in his patrol car at the time, was unharmed. North Port police released cruiser video of the crash to highlight the dangers of ignoring Florida's Move Over law, which requires drivers to change lanes for stopped emergency vehicles, law enforcement, tow trucks, utility service vehicles and construction crews with flashing lights. If a lane change is impossible due to traffic, drivers must slow to 20 mph below the posted speed limit.

Florida Highway Patrol investigators have not announced formal charges but confirmed the driver who struck the patrol car likely will receive a citation for failing to move over.