Driver dies after car crashes into tree, catches fire on Interstate 4

A driver was killed on Interstate 4 Wednesday afternoon after the car he was driving went off the interstate at a high speed, hit a tree and caught fire, Florida Highway Patrol troopers report.

The crash occurred about 1:40 p.m. Wednesday. Troopers said the driver was going west at “a high rate of speed.” As he approached Mile Marker 28 near Lakeland, he lost control, traveled across all the westbound lanes, entered the outside shoulder and hit a tree.

The car “erupted into flames” and the driver was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers reported in a news release. No one else was injured.

Troopers said they not know the driver’s age or identity, only that he was a male. An investigation is ongoing.