No members of the Hiram (Ohio) College baseball team were injured, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

PASCO COUNTY – A South Carolina woman died Saturday (March 4) in a crash with a tour bus that closed a portion of I-75 for about four hours, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Emily C. Jones, 81, of Mount Pleasant, SC, died at the scene. Her passenger, Carlan J. Gombert, 59, of Savannah, GA, was airlifted to Bayonet Point Hospital with critical injuries. The driver of the third vehicle in the crash, Amy C. Chadek, 45, of Ocala, was taken to Florida Hospital Wesley Chapel with serious injuries. Shirley J. Jackson, 69, of West Salem, Ohio, who was driving the tour bus, sustained minor injuries.

The crash happened about 12:33 p.m. on I-75 near mile marker 287. Troopers said Jackson was driving a 2014 Pioneer tour bus with 38 members of the Hiram (Ohio) College baseball team south on I-75. Head of her was a 2007 Lexus RX350 driven by the South Carolina woman. Ahead of the Lexus was a 2014 Hyundai Sonata driven by Chadek.

Traffic slowed as vehicles merged from three lanes to two lanes. The bus failed to slow, troopers said, and rear-ended the Lexus, which, in turn, rear-ended the Hyundai. The crash closed the southbound interstate until 4:30 p.m.

For information about the Florida Highway Patrol, go to flhsmv.gov.

Florida Highway Patrol | Driver Dies | Hiram College | Baseball Team | Fatal Crash | Traffic Crash | TB Reporter

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