SR 60 Blocked at Old Bartow Road by Serious Crash

A very serious crash blocked SR 60 in both directions only a half-mile west of US 27 Saturday afternon, causing a massive backup for both east and west-bound traffic.

Robert Connors

Traffic on SR 60 was blocked in both directions due to a serious crash at Old Bartow Road. Traffic was shunted onto side roads or turned around at the scene

UPDATE: All lanes of SR 60 were cleared by 3:30 p.m., allowing normal traffic to resume.

The 1:48 p.m. incident drew nearly a dozen emergency vehicles and nearly a score of personnel to the scene to redirect traffic. Although no official word has been released, it was apparent that at least one vehicle had been totally destroyed and lay on the south shoulder of the eastbound lanes..

Robert Connors

The remains of a vehicle are seen on the south shoulder of SR 60 shortly after the 1:48 p.m. crash.

Officers at the scene were unable to share any details of what had occurred and directed media inquiries to the Sheriff's office public information officer. Those details will be pending an on-scene investigation, which has just begun after the transport of victims from the scene.

Those wishing to travel between Lake Wales and Bartow are encouraged to seek alternate routes. Old Bartow Road and Mountain Lake Road west of US 27 were both clogged with slow-moving traffic attempting to navigate around the blockage. Alternative routes could be ABC Road through Alturas or Thompson Nursery Road to US 17.