The Florida Highway Patrol reported Friday evening that 52 people were transported to area hospitals after at least 12 crashes involving 47 vehicles on southbound Interstate 75.
The collisions occurred Friday afternoon near the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties.
A stretch of southbound I-75 was closed for several hours Friday as the scene was cleared, but the highway patrol reported just after 9 p.m. that the section is now open.
Authorities didn't immediately report the cause of the collisions.
