A man is dead following an overnight traffic crash on C.R. 672 in Lithia.
At approximately 12:30 a.m. on March 24, 2022, John Hopkins, 59, was driving eastbound on C.R. 672, about two miles west of C.R. 39. The front of Hopkins' vehicle struck an 11-foot alligator, which was in the roadway. The vehicle veered off the road and overturned into a ditch on the north side of the road. A motorist passing by in the area noticed the car in the ditch and called 911.
Detectives responded to the crash and Hopkins was pronounced deceased at the scene. The alligator was also deceased.
The investigation is ongoing at this time.
March 24, 2022
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