The Fort Myers Police Department were forced to shut down one direction of State Road 82 Monday while they investigated a fatal accident near Interstate 75.
All eastbound lanes of State Road 82 were blocked east of the interstate after the crash, which involved a city recycling truck and purple minivan and left the driver of the minivan dead at the scene.
Ft. Myers Police Department is still investigating the cause of the wreck. Florida Highway Patrol shut down the exit, diverted traffic and helped with the cleanup.
"What it does is tax our resources now rather than us being proactive trying to prevent crashes from happening. We are having to do traffic control, and assist other agencies, other agencies assist us. We all work collectively. So are resources get tied up with that," said Lt. Greg Bueno, from Florida Highway Patrol.
The State Road 82 crash is the latest in a trend of fatal crashes in Southwest Florida crashes that are often preventable. "You have to be able to be prepared to stop. If you are looking at your phone, your messing with the radio, your mind is not focused. You are going to lose valuable seconds there, which leads to a traffic crash," said Lt. Bueno.
Fox 4 asked the City of Ft. Myers about the accident and the status of the city employee involved. A city spokesperson told Fox 4 they will not be releasing a statement until the police department completes the investigation.
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