13-year-old, 83-year-old killed in I-75 crash near Alachua: FHP

ALACHUA, Fla. – Two people were killed and another was seriously hurt Thursday morning in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 75 in Alachua County.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, an 83-year-old woman and a 13-year-old girl from High Springs that were riding in an SUV were killed in the crash near Alachua that shut down I-75 around 11 a.m. A 50-year-old woman that was also riding in the SUV was also seriously injured.

FHP said a car that merged into a tractor-trailer that was traveling in a southbound lane of the highway started a chain reaction that ended in tragedy. After the car hit the tractor-trailer, FHP said it slid across the highway and hit the rear end of the SUV. That sent the SUV into the shoulder and caused it to overturn several times, FHP said.

All southbound lanes of Interstate 75 were temporarily closed for the investigation and later reopened.

The investigation into the crash is ongoing, FHP said.