PASCO COUNTY, Fla. – An early morning crash on I-75 resulted in serious injuries of five children from Philadelphia.
At 2:15 a.m., Monday morning, a 26-year-old Tampa woman who was allegedly “tired and impaired” stopped her Buick Encore on the inside lane near milepost 289, just north of State Route 52 in Pasco County.
Her SUV was struck from behind by a Chevy Tracker driven by a 24-year-old Philadelphia woman with five children inside.
Upon impact the Encore overturned while the Tracker rotated with both vehicles ending up in the outside lane.
The driver of the Encore fled the scene on foot into some nearby woods.
The Philadelphia woman sustained minor injuries, but her female passengers — a 10-year-old, an 8-year-old, a 6-year-old are all listed in serious condition at local hospitals. A 6-year-old male child is also listed in serious condition, while a 1-year-old female child is in critical condition.
The driver and the children are all from Philadelphia, PA. None of the passengers were wearing child restraints.
The driver of the Encore returned when troopers arrived. Ashley Clairmonte, 26, was arrested for DUI Serious Injury and Leaving the Scene of a Crash with Injury and was taken to the Pasco County Jail.
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