Crash closes I-4 lanes in Polk County

A crash involving a motorcycle deputy snarled traffic on Interstate 4 this morning, creating a commuting nightmare for thousands of travelers.

According to the sheriff's office, Deputy Nick Taylor had a vehicle pulled over for a traffic stop on I-4's eastbound off-ramp leading to County Road 557 -- that's a few miles east of Lakeland -- when his patrol motorcycle was hit by another vehicle. The deputy was injured and taken to LRMC with non-life-threatening injuries.

The investigation into the crash forced the closure of all but one lane on I-4. Traffic quickly ground to a halt.

By 12:20, the scene had been cleared, according to the Dept. of Transportation, but the backup still stretched for as much as seven miles.  It wasn't until almost 3 p.m. that traffic was finally moving at a near-normal pace.