Second person dies in Debby after tractor-trailer plunges off bridge on a storm-slickened highway

A tractor-trailer is lifted from a canal near Tampa, Florida, on Monday. 

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue

A tractor-trailer plunged off an interstate bridge and into a canal near Tampa, Florida, early Monday, killing the driver. The 64-year-old Mississippi man lost control on the wet roadway, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

It’s the second death blamed on severe weather conditions from Debby, which made landfall as a hurricane and is now a tropical storm.

The accident happened at about 2:30 a.m. on Interstate 75, northeast of downtown Tampa.

 “The vehicle rotated, collided with a concrete barrier wall along the outside shoulder and traveled over the wall,” the highway patrol said in a press release. “The trailer came to rest hanging from the bridge while the cab separated and fell into the Tampa Bypass Canal.”

 A portion of the trailer went off the bridge and hit water.

 “Upon arrival, the first unit found the truck teetering on the guard rail, with the cab still out of the water,” Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said. “About 15 minutes into the incident, the front cab became submerged.”