Child killed, driver arrested in I-75 crash in Pasco

WESLEY CHAPEL — A 6-month-old Bradenton girl was killed in a crash on Interstate 75 early Thursday and a tractor-trailer driver who left the scene was later arrested, troopers said.

The crash happened about 12:30 a.m. after the driver of a Ford Fusion heading south near State Road 52 slowed down because of a low or flat tire, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Two adult passengers got out of the Ford to try to direct traffic away from the car as it continued south at a low speed.

A man driving a tractor-trailer car hauler crashed into the Ford, then continued driving south and exited at SR 52, troopers said. The truck driver, 31-year-old Aramis Peralta Ramirez of Tampa, stopped briefly on the exit ramp to check the damage to the truck, then headed west on SR 52. The truck became disabled on Old Pasco Road, where Pasco sheriff’s deputies arrested Ramirez on a charge of leaving the scene of a crash involving death.

A 6-month-old girl in the Ford was killed. An 8-month-old boy, a 3-year-old boy and a 43-year-old man riding in the Ford suffered minor injuries. The Ford’s driver, a 34-year-old man, also had minor injuries. All are from Bradenton. The Highway Patrol did not release their names.