Tampa motorcyclist dies after crashing into trailer full of auto parts on I-75, troopers say

A 23-year-old Tampa man is dead after he crashed his motorcycle into a trailer being towed by a truck on Interstate 75 in Pasco County early Tuesday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Troopers say the man was driving a 2014 Kawasaki motorcycle south “at a high rate of speed” when he struck the trailer full of auto parts near milepost 274 around 12:30 a.m. The trailer was being towed by a 2012 Ford F250.

The force of the impact sent the man flying off of his motorcycle and he landed into the open trailer, the Highway Patrol said in a news release. Crash debris scattered across the southbound lanes of the roadway.

The motorcyclist was airlifted to a hospital, where he died, troopers said.

The Ford driver, a 53-year-old man from Apollo Beach, was not injured, the release said.

In the aftermath of the collision, five vehicles were involved in a secondary crash, troopers said. None of the drivers were injured.

The Highway Patrol did not name any of the people involved in either crash.

Southbound lanes of I-75 were closed until around 3:40 a.m., according to the release.