Truck Accidents 360 Newswire

LEHIGH ACRES, FL – A veteran Deputy in the Collier County Sheriff’s Office died from injuries he received Tuesday morning in a truck accident in Lee County, Florida. The truck collision happened on State Road 82 in Lehigh Acres, FL, east of the Fort Myers and Coral Gables metro region. The accident area is in the southeast section of the state near the Gulf of Mexico, 134 miles northwest of Boca Raton and 129 miles southeast of Tampa-St. Petersburg, FL.

Shortly before 6:00 a.m. Tuesday morning, 68 year old Leroy Rahmings of Lehigh Acres, FL, was driving a 1995 Dodge pickup truck north on Blackstone Drive in Lehigh Acres, FL. Mr. Rahmings has been a Community Service Deputy with the Collier County Sheriff’s Office for fourteen years, since 1995.

When Mr. Rahmings reached State Road 82 he pulled out onto the highway, directly in the path of an eastbound tractor trailer truck driven by 54 year old Kenneth Pigott.

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Witnesses report that the semi truck driver, Mr. Pigott, attempted to swerve and applied his brakes to avoid an accident, but there was not enough time and the front part of the semi truck crashed into the driver’s side of Mr. Rahming’s pickup truck.

After the 18 wheeler smashed into the pickup, the smaller truck spun around counter clockwise and moved into the westbound lanes of State Road 82. The pickup truck then split into two pieces. The rear section of the pickup went onto the north shoulder of the highway, while the front cab section burst into flames and finally came to a stop in the westbound lane of the roadway.

Local emergency services personnel responded to the scene of the truck accident, but were unable to save Mr. Rahmings. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the truck collision.

Florida Highway Patrol officers also arrived at the truck accident scene and closed down the section of State Road 82 in the area of the collision. The highway would remain closed for several hours while officers reconstructed the truck accident and work crews cleared the wreckage from the roadway.

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FHP officers have talked to a Lee County school bus driver who was stopped at a corner in the area of the truck accident. She related the events of the truck collision and reportedly told officers that the driver of the 18 wheeler was not speeding or driving erratically at the time of the collision. There were also two schoolchildren who were passengers on the bus at the time of the accident.

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Some other drivers interviewed claim that there is a visibility problem at the intersection, and it can be difficult to see approaching traffic on State Road 82.

Mr. Rahmings was a well liked and respected Deputy in the Collier County Sheriff’s Office, and the department would be flying their flag at half-staff and wearing black stripes on their badges in Mr. Rahming’s honor.

At this time no charges have been made, and the truck accident remains under investigation.

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