Fatal Crash & Fire Shuts Down I-275 Southbound in St. Petersburg | 10 Tampa Bay

A fatal vehicle crash on Interstate 275 southbound in St. Petersburg, Florida, has closed three of four lanes Saturday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol and St. Petersburg Fire Rescue.

Emergency crews responded to mile marker 30 where a vehicle collided with a utility pole and became fully engulfed in flames. The extent of injuries and the number of individuals transported to hospitals, remains unknown at this time.

The Florida Highway Patrol has directed traffic to detour via the 4th Street and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Exits. Traffic cameras confirm significant congestion in the area.

This incident follows a separate I-275 crash in Pinellas County on September 9, 2025, where a tractor-trailer truck overturned and caught fire on a northbound exit ramp to State Road 690, resulting in serious injuries to the driver. That crash also led to lane closures and traffic disruptions, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Planned lane closures are currently in effect on I-275 from south of SR 60 West/S.R. 589 North (Exit 39) to just north of the SR 60 interchange, scheduled nightly from 9 p.m. To 5 a.m. Through Thursday, March 19. Additional closures are planned for the Howard Frankland Bridge between Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, from 9 p.m. To 6 p.m. Nightly, beginning Sunday, March 22.

The Florida Highway Patrol has not yet released further details regarding the cause of the Saturday morning crash or the identities of those involved. The investigation is ongoing.