Police have retracted a previous claim that a semi-truck was behind the death of a man who was ejected into Lake Jessup and killed after the vehicle in which he was riding was involved in an accident on State Road 417.
The retraction came by way of new evidence from a witness that came forward in the matter.
According to the female witness, the semi-truck drove through the scene after the initial crash occurred and did not cause the incident.
Originally, FHP reported that a semi-truck drove into the back of a 2010 Toyota Scion, causing a collision that ejected one of the occupants, a 60-year-old Orlando man, into Lake Jessup. The man was pronounced dead on the scene.
After a review of digital evidence that was not made available to media outlets, troopers have determined that the Mercedes SUV, which they originally believed was struck by the Scion, was in fact the vehicle that struck the Scion first as it was traveling southbound.
The Mercedes, which was being driven by a 39-year-old Orlando man, struck the rear of the Scion, which was being driven by a 66-year-old man from Massachusetts, and caused it to strike the concrete wall on the highway. The vehicle rotated and struck the wall twice.
The drivers and other occupants were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
The crash currently remains under investigation, with no further information available at this time. Anyone with information about the crash may contact the Florida Highway Patrol at 407-737-2213.