CHARLOTTE COUNTY, Fla. (WINK) — A wrong-way driver caused a fatal crash on Interstate 75 early Sunday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred at 1:13 a.m. at mile marker 150 on northbound I-75 in Charlotte County. According to the press release, a 53-year-old Sarasota man was driving a 2020 Ford F150 southbound in the northbound lanes when he collided with two vehicles traveling in the correct direction.
A 21-year-old Bradenton woman driving a 2012 Honda CRV was pronounced dead at the scene. A 34-year-old Arcadia woman and two passengers in her 2016 Kia Optima, ages 12 and 15, sustained serious injuries and were transported to an area hospital.
A fourth vehicle, a 2023 Tesla Model 3 driven by a 19-year-old Sarasota woman, collided with crash debris and sustained minor damage. The driver was not injured.
The wrong-way driver, identified as Dennis Lee Olson, sustained non-incapacitating injuries and was transported to an area hospital. Upon his release, state troopers arrested Olson and charged him with vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.
Dennis Lee Olson. (Credit: Lee County Sheriff’s Office)
Olson was booked into the Charlotte County Jail. The crash remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.