For several families, the recent Thanksgiving holiday began in tragedy following a Port Charlotte auto accident. The multi-car wreck occurred at approximately 6:45 p.m. on Interstate 75. Involved were Steven Arthur Morgan, 53, Brandon Joseph Conti, 18, and Tyler Lee Cutright, 19. Mr. Conti and Mr. Cutright are both residents of Sarasota. Mr. Morgan had been living in Port Charlotte with friends for approximately four months.
Mr. Morgan was an employee of DBI, a company hired to perform maintenance on the interstate. He was working in the southbound emergency lane of Interstate 75, cleaning up debris from an earlier minor accident. Traffic had stopped in the area around the cleanup. Mr. Conti, driving a 2001 Ford Explorer, attempted to avoid the stopped a traffic and lost control of his vehicle. It struck the guide cable in the median and hit Mr. Morgan in the process. The Explorer ultimately came to rest in an upright position in the median.
In addition to Mr. Morgan’s fatal injuries, Mr. Conti’s passenger, Mr. Cutright, was also injured after being ejected from the vehicle. He was taken by helicopter to Blake Medical Center in Bradenton following the crash. His injuries were described as serious.
Mr. Morgan leaves behind a 16-year-old daughter who resides in Daytona Beach, as well as a mother and two sisters who reside in New York. He was a 20-year volunteer firefighter with the Enterprise Fire Company in Phoenix, New York. The department chose Mr. Morgan as its Firefighter of the Year in 1991.
Our condolences and well wishes go out to the families of the victims involved in this accident.
