A 63-year-old man died Monday morning after he walked across I-75 in Marion County and was struck by two tractor-trailers, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The FHP report said the man was crossing from the west paved shoulder to the east side of the highway when he stepped in the path of a semi headed south on I-75 near the State Road 326 exit ramp.
The 31-year-old man driving the tractor-trailer tried to swerve to miss the man on the highway but didn’t have time and hit the man with the right front fender section of the semi, according to FHP.
The driver lost control of the tractor-trailer, sliding into the grass median and then slamming the cab into the guardrail in the median as the trailer section flipped on its side, troopers said.
The impact left the pedestrian lying in the right lane of the highway, where a second tractor-trailer was unable to avoid hitting him, the report said.
Both semi drivers remained at the scene. Both were wearing seat belts and neither was injured, the report said.
The pedestrian died at the scene.