Hernando County, Fla. (Newsradio WFLA) - A man driving the wrong way on the Suncoast Parkway caused a crash that killed another driver early Sunday, the Florida Highway Patrol said. Jose Esteban Jimenez, 39, of Frostproof drove his GMC pickup truck south in the northbound lanes at about 1:45 a.m. through heavy fog and collided head-on with the Mini Cooper that Rhiddari D. McKenzie, of Spring Hill drove, according to an FHP crash report. McKenzie's car "erupted in flames and burned completely," the report said, and he died at the scene. Troopers suspected Jimenez of driving impaired. He went to a local hospital with serious injuries. The crash cleanup and investigation closed the Parkway for more than six hours.
Crash scene photo courtesy of the FHP.