78-year-old Ellenton man killed in fatal US 301 crash in Manatee County, troopers say

The Florida Highway Patrol says a 31-year-old Bradenton man died Thursday after his pickup truck struck a telephone pole while fleeing the scene of a previous accident on Lockwood Ridge Road in Sarasota County.

A 78-year-old Ellenton man died in a two-vehicle crash Monday morning at a U.S. 301 intersection, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers said the man was driving a pickup truck southbound on U.S 301 and attempted to turn left onto Colony Drive South in Ellenton around 6:36 a.m. when he entered the path of a northbound Hyundai Sonata.

The front left of the Sonata crashed into the front right of the truck, causing the pickup to rest on the paved shoulder of U.S. 301, while the sedan ended up on a grassy shoulder, according to a news release.

FHP says paramedics pronounced the pickup driver, who was not wearing a seatbelt, dead at the scene.

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The driver of the Hyundai, a 23-year-old Ellenton man, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to HCA Florida Blake Hospital, according to the release.

The crash remains under investigation, FHP says.