the plan had been to open at least the southbound lanes. have you heard anything? >> right now both directions still closed northbound and southbound. right at the split there with 75 all the way to bearss. >> janelle will be updating the work around all morning long. first, let's go to corey dierdorff to tell under the circumstances how this deadly -- to tell us how the deadly accident unfolded. >> good morning. like you said both directions of i-275 still shut down from the north apex to bearss. couple of minutes had a few cars trying to get around that roadblock to head southbound. this is not an area you want to be driving through now. there is debris all over the there's still wires from the center divider down all over the roadway. through. if you're heading in this come down i-275, it is not open yet. like you said fhp working now lanes, they said those will be

they are still trying to get oil and debris out of the roadway. as well as the northbound lanes. it will be shut down for quite some time headed into the morning, as they have to do a lot of repairs. here's what happened according to fhp -- this all happening just before midnight. there was a van that was disabled and stopped in the center lane of southbound 275 with no lights on. there was a semi traveling southbound in the same center lane. going full speed, didn't see that van, slammed into the back of that van. the impact made the van burst into flames causing it to cross the median, and the impact killed the male driver of the van. that name of the driver hasn't been released at this time. this interstate like we said, expected to be completely shut down for at least another hour in the northbound lanes. they will be shut down for some

get out here to see what damage was done and try to make it safe for drivers. we'll keep you updated all morning long at abcactionnews.com as well as twitter @tampabaytraffic. what do you see on the maps this camera is positioned just north of riddleton way. you can see the flashing lights. let's look at this interstate, closed all the way from the split there with 75 to bearss. what they are doing now is they are diverting cars all 75 down bruce b downs, getting back on the interstate at bearss or fletcher if you're heading north on 275 you can make that same detour in reverse. depending on where you're coming from and where you're going, could also take 41 if that is a little easier for you and get you closer to where you need to be. again 275 closed now, this long stretch of road between the split and 275, so your alternate, they are making you get around bruce b downs over to fletcher.

hopefully the southbound lanes will open soon. elsewhere you're in pretty good shape. i-4 at park road not too bad, reports of some debris in the road, i've looked for it, can't find it. so off smooth ride all the way in from the lakeland area to tampa. shay? we are off to a very clear start to the day. so it's good news there. there isn't anything weatherwise to create any additional problems. for those drivers there. as far as our rain chances go, very minimal. not only this morning but also through the afternoon. the rivergate tower tampa camera showing a few extra clouds there on the horizon. and that is all ahead of our next cold front. we'll start to see rain chances beginning overnight. as far as temperatures go this morning, boy, are we more mild. we're in the low 40s to mid-40s in citrus county. crystal river 43. lecanto 44. hillsborough county also in the 40s to low 50s even. now as we move through the day

fair weather clouds bringing us to highs in the low 70s. yeah. perfect winter day in my opinion. i will show you what is ahead though with that next cold front, even a risk for more severe storms i'll have more on that in the florida's most accurate 7-day forecast. pinellas county deputies say our community is safer for our kids now, now that 15 men have been busted in an underaged sex sting. deputies say the suspects all traveled to meet someone they thought was a minor for sex after chatting with that person on-line. turns out the minors were actually investigators. that sting was called operation wayfareer. >> when the kids don't like the fact that you're checking their e-mail, checking their text messages, checking their instant messenger, checking instagram, checking the web sites they are using too bad. >> investigators say the suspects range in age from 20 to 47. in fact one drove three and-a-

thought was a 13-year-old girl. it's 5:04. seven recruits and deputy fired as the pinellas county sheriff's office investigates an alleged cheating scandal. officials say they all cheated on agency exams and those recruits made to it get copies of the actual tests. used them to cheat and lied about it afterwards. we'll keep you updated as we learn more about what is next from the sheriff. uber is responding after one of its drivers was arrested for reportedly pulling a gun on a customer. manatee deputies arrested 67- year-old patrick mcdonald friday night. deserts say his rider got sick and when mcdonald asked him to get out of his very expensive car and find another way home investigators say mcdonald pulled the victim out of the car and pulled a gun on him. shocked. >> can't believe that -- happen or escalate to where that would have to happen.

breaking overnight -- all schools now are closed in alert about possible attacks. the government memo says there's intelligence that 13 neighboring afghanistan are planning suicide attacks on schools in pakistan. we brought you the breaking group linked to the taliban attacked a university killing 21 people, mostly students. at home -- a plant city mother now pleading for the person who killed her son to do the right thing and turn himself in to police. we spoke with the mother of the victim, 36-year-old reginald brown, yesterday morning, live on abc action news. she said she had not seen her son since friday so she and family members went to check on him. his mom says she found his door wide open, his body was just

we're hearing her frantic call to 911. [screaming] >> police say there were no signs of any forced entry and they believe that brown likely knew his killer. there's a $3,000 reward for any information that leads to an arrest. an update to breaking news we brought you all morning long yesterday. 20-year-old has died after serious crash that shut down part of the court knee campbell causeway for hours. tampa police say a driver was likely drunk when he hit another car in the westbound lanes early monday and tried to run away after the crash. we're told charges are pending against that driver, 18-year- old adrian doth, he's still in one of his passengers died. a group of bay quarter little leaguers from temple

impact on their community. the tampa bay legends needed to raise money for decided to do it in a way that benefited another cause besides just their own. they are now asking people to buy care kits filled with basic essentials for homeless families. >> i'm excited because we get to help other people. >> the team so far sold 75, their goal is to sell 130. they then plan to drop them off at the local salvation army shelter next month. you can help the tampa bay legend and the homeless if you want to donate. we have a link posted now, just go to abcactionnews.com and click on "story links." we want to get back to the breaking news. that bad traffic accident. >> yeah, we have a fatal accident on 275, 275 blocked now between the northern apex, that split with 75 and bearss. you can see it on our traffic cameras. this traffic position north of riddleton way. more on this and how to get

as you head out the door this morning, our roads are dry, temperature are warmer than what they were yesterday at this time. by about 10 to 15 degrees. it's noticeable out there. we're topping out today at 73 with partly sunny skies. just a gorgeous day ahead. it all goes downhill as early as overnight tonight. i'll have the latest on the timing of our next cold front coming up in florida's most accurate 7-day forecast. dan? 5:09. the snow may have stopped but its aftermath still has east coast cities reeling. where schools will stay closed today, as the death toll climbs related to the historic blizzard. >> i've never seen this happen ever. >> this brawl sending everyone out of their seats in a new mexico courtroom. the verdict that came down

this morning schools are closed for a second day in a row where that weekend blizzard covered cities like washington, dc, feet of snow. there were more than 2,500 flight delays and cancellations yesterday but airlines are hoping to relieve some of the air travel troubles today. while roadways in dc are cleared up for the most part federal offices will remain closed as well. as of this morning at least 42 deaths are now linked to the blizzard that pounded the east coast from car accidents, carbon monoxide poisoning and heart attacks while shoveling. in kentucky, people are dealing with snow trouble in a different way.

that got walloped by that big snowstorm. one of the biggest they've seen in years. boats and boat slips destroyed by the weight of all the snow causing parts of roofs to collapse. they are still counting the slips in boats affected. this is one of pfeiffer marinas in the area taking -- five marinas in the area taking a major hit. depending on the weather some owners may not be able to get to their boats for two weeks. a lot of snow keeping people indoors, cable boxes were working overtime. at one point on saturday in the east coast nearly 1.3 million comcast customers used xfinity on demand to watch movies and tv shows all at once. officials say that is a record. it was not just tv either that people were turning to. apparently a lot of people hoped to find love in the blizzard. the dating app happened, reported a jump in use on saturday. the app says messaging in new york city went up 139% from the weekend prior. and it was not just in new york.

in messaging there by 342% and new users signups jumped as well. 5:14. back to janelle now and that breaking news. >> look at the live pictures corey dierdorff on the scene bringing in these pictures. this was a fatal crash just before midnight on 275, disabled van was parked in -- or stuck i should say in the middle of 275 in the southbound lanes when a semi slammed into the back of it, that van burst into flames, crossed the median, ended up in the northbound lanes. directions, all the way from the apex down to bearss. let's look at the closure on one of the detours you can take is to get off at 75 to bruce b downs and then get back on 275 either at bearss or fletcher. if you're heading northbound in the reverse. you can also use 41 depending on where you're coming from and where you're going. they did reopen the southbound

that tells me maybe they are those southbound lanes corey will let us know as soon as that happens. they are hoping to have it so we will definitely keep our eye on it. i have been checking cameras elsewhere on the interstates, no crashes or breakdowns to tell you about. we're looking great here on 275 through downtown tampa. just six minutes from here to the howard frankland bridge. your drive times on the veterans in the green too. 17 minutes from 54 to 275. and 6 minutes at the bottom from waters to 275. as you're headed out the door this morning definitely off to a warmer start by 10 to 15 degrees. hey, look at the futurecast. nice and dry. i'm going to fast forward the clock all the way through to 8:00 tonight because you can see although the clouds increase, that is the gray tones, none of the green indicating rain until about 8:00. that is when we start to see a

light shower or two across the area. rain chances go up from there. what you're seeing beginning around 3:00 in the morning in the southern counties is a strong line of heavy rain and possibly some strong thunderstorms, maybe slight chance that we could see even a severe storm. so overnight tonight beginning around 3:00 in the morning tomorrow morning that is when we start to see our increased chance for damaging winds, even a slight chance or minimal chance shy say for a brief -- i should say for a brief tornado. make sure you don't have loose items around your porch and make sure you have an alert radio, if you're usually sleeping at this time. stormshield is a great app to have on your mobile twice and you will be able to get alerts to only the areas that you pinpoint if there is a warning. during that time frame. that also works when you're on the go. you can put your kids' school, spouse's work location,

the area so you're getting alerts for severe weather just in those spots. as far as the rest of the day goes, we'll continue to have waves of rain and storms that move across, all of the tampa bay area through the first half of the day at least. then it will be hit or miss as we continue through thursday, as another area of low pressure works its way across that stalled-out front. it all clears out friday though making way for a nice warm-up into the weekend. gasparilla weather looking fantastic from start-to-finish. comfortably cool, with a high around 66 and then even warmer a high of 70. that's florida's most accurate find me on facebook and 5:18. we have an update on the three dangerous inmates who escaped from a maximum security jail in security experts now say they likely had help pulling off the plan and they also benefited staff. inmates now facing more charges

violent felonies. they were at the prison during a head count friday morning but investigators believe other prisoners staged a fight friday count. through a metal gate clawing through plumbing tunnels and repelling through the roof with a rope made from bed sheets. a new mexico defendant may prosecutor in court. the video there. a jury had just found michael girlfriend's 5-year-old daughter. as the prosecutor walked back to his seat after talking to the judge cox shoved the prosecutor to the ground and tried punching him. deputies quickly tackled cox, he could face more charges after an investigation. he's now in jail without bond pending the outcome of this 5:19. still ahead -- the action on the court turns from free

into breaking news. a fatal crash closed 275 in both directions. you can see the scene there, a lot of activity. it happened between the

275 and breers. closed in both directions. bearss. a van was stalled in the middle of the interstate in the southbound lanes and another vehicle crashed into it. i'll tell you how to get around this closure, coming up. 5:23. star high school athlete in indiana apologizing for fighting during a basketball game. >> that fight broke out and brought an early end to the season for both teams involved. angel baker caught on camera stomping on an opposing player on the floor. the sophomore point guard says the video doesn't show that player hitting her, she says it only shows her reaction. >> baker is set to return to school today, after serving a five-day suspension. now she's apologizing before going back to class. >> i just want to apologize to my school and -- for

i'm trying to stay positive. >> the punishment for both teams involved, they are suspended for the rest of the season and have to take a course on sportsmanship. scientists announce the dooms-day clock time today. is civilization closer or farther from disaster? it's a metaphorcal clock in washington, dc and shows us how vulnerable the world is to catastrophe from climate change, nuclear weapons and new technology. coming up -- we're staying on top of this breaking news -- deadly crash that has closed northbound and southbound lanes of i-275 between 75 and bearss avenue. janelle martinez will show you how to get around this and corey dierdorff is there with the latest from the scene in a

5:29 -- a traffic alert for commuters on the north side of town if you're coming to tampa from wesley chapel, you're in trouble this morning. janelle, deadly crash on i-275? >> both directions northbound and southbound from all the way at the apex, that's the split if your morning -- bearss closed now. if your morning drive takes you at alternates now.

now and what caused this.