St. Augustine man survives after flatbed truck overturns

Truck owned by M.D. Towing in Jacksonville overturns in Tampa area

TAMPA, Fla. – A St. Augustine man is lucky to be alive after flatbed truck he was driving overturned and fell off a bridge in the Tampa area Friday.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol report, 29-year-old Jeffery Scott Cook was traveling southbound on Interstate 75 just north of the Alafia River in the outside center lane.

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After a mechanical failure, Cook lost control of his truck and traveled into the shoulder of the roadway. Authorities said the flatbed truck then collided with the inside concrete barrier wall and overturned.

The truck and the bulldozer it was transporting, plummeted 45 feet to the marsh below the bridge.

The FHP report said that Cook sustained serious injuries but was immediately rescued by several people who were passing by, including an on-duty Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputy and an off-duty Hillsborough County Reserve firefighter.

The flatbed truck Cook was driving is owned by M.D. Towing in Jacksonville.

Cook was taken to Tampa General Hospital where he is listed in stable condition.

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