Land O’ Lakes Company Involved in I-275 Hit-And-Run

This post was written by Sherri Lonon.

The Florida Highway Patrol’s search for the driver responsible for hitting the Kennedy Boulevard overpass on Interstate 275 Tuesday morning, Aug. 20, has ended.

Sgt. Steve Gaskins says the tractor-trailer whose crane hit the overpass was driven by Patrick Bruce Mulvihill, 57, of Hudson. Mulvihill works for Crockett’s Towing out of Land O’ Lakes. The truck in question turns out to be a 1984 Peterbilt, Gaskins wrote in an email.

The crash took place around 9:22 a.m. Aug. 20 when a crane on the truck hit the overpass, causing concrete to fall onto southbound lanes of I-275. The debris damaged a 2011 Mazda CX-7 driven by Elizabeth McLaughlin, 56, of Tampa. The accident also forced a temporary closing of interstate lanes. No one was injured.

On Tuesday, Gaskins said the truck kept going across the Howard Frankland Bridge following the collision. Bay area residents were asked to phone in tips to help in the search for the tractor-trailer or its driver.

That request paid off, Gaskins said. Witness tips led to the discovery that the Land O’ Lakes towing company’s truck was involved in the crash that caused an estimated $7,000 in damage to the overpass.

Troopers plan to cite Mulvihill for transporting a load that exceeded the state’s high requirements, Gaskins said.