DAVENPORT, Fla. — A 61-year-old man from Zephyrhills was killed early Saturday, January 31, after his car was crushed in an underride crash with a semi-truck at the intersection of Deen Still Road and Wheeler Road, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO).

Deputies said the crash happened just before 6 a.m. (around 5:45 a.m.). Investigators say a Freightliner semi-truck, driven by a 21-year-old man from Georgia, had pulled out from a sand mine entrance and was stretched across the roadway while attempting to turn westbound.

A 2018 Nissan Sentra traveling eastbound on Deen Still Road struck the side of the trailer and went completely underneath it, crushing the top half of the car and killing the driver, PCSO said. No one else was in the car.

An underride crash occurs when a passenger vehicle ends up under the side or rear of a tractor-trailer.

The roadway was closed for about four hours while PCSO’s Traffic Homicide Unit investigated.

PCSO said the investigation remains ongoing.

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