as funeral plans are set for hillsborough county deputy we're learning about the final moments of his life that have many calling him a hero. >> national attention on our swing state here in florida today. coming up, i'll break down why florida's vote is so crucial and what you need to know before you head to the polls. >> good morning, thank you for joining us. today's primary day in florida. >> that's right. we're going to get to all the knocksy 2016 coverage -- democracy 2016 coverage in a moment. but first a traffic alert. there is fog. corey dierdorff is arriving at the closure now.

than 100 feet? >> reporter: yeah. i really don't start to see that until you really get past where this closure is. i-275 southbound at exit 17 which is the pinellas bayway and 54th avenue south split. they are redirecting traffic off exit 17. you have to make a u turn to go back northbound on 275. like you said 275 closed, sunshine skyway also closed. it's messy even from the howard frankland down to this area where you're dealing with patchy areas of heavy fog, down to a half-mile visibility. also very light rain mixed in as well. so not only are you dealing with the fog, you're dealing with rain. then you really start to see the heavier fog start around 22nd avenue south, where we're also dealing with lane closures due to construction. as you head to that area make sure you slow down, there's a lot of workers on the side of the road, visibility down, fhp on the side of the road there. another exit south at the 54th avenue bayway exit at exit 17 you can see people stopping trying to figure out where to go.

there's no real good workaround for this right now, you have to head all the way back to tampa to make it around the bay. we're not sure how long this fog is going to stick around. ivan will have more soon but like you said i-275 is shut down at 54th avenue south, exit 17, traffic is being rerouted. as you hit the 22nds avenue southbound, the construction closures and down at exit 17 at 5th avenue south make sure you -- 54th avenue south make sure you slow way down because there's confusion as people figure out where they can go this morning. you mentioned there's really no good way around this. as you know the sunshine skyway closed, you can see the red here so your options, i-75, you can even take 41 here, if you're in st. pete you're going to have to go over the gandy or howard frankland. go through tampa to go on i-75 if you're heading into sarasota. the good news, 41, 75, those streets looking good now.

speeds are up to speed so we'll keep you posted on this and let you know as soon as it opens back up. ivan, how long do you expect this fog to last? >> it will be a while because the winds are coming off the water. so it's going to be one of those mornings it could take us through midday. the visibility will increase with daylight but keep in mind the hours have changed here as well so we have another two hours to go. quarter mile in sarasota. and there will be pockets there of dense fog where you can't see the car in front of you so be cautious there. the rest of the tampa bay area though not looking that bad. i think it will be a coastal event through the morning hours. we'll follow that as far as the visibility. dew points in the low 70s and temperatures in the low 70s. the two match up and you get saturation and fog so we'll continue with temperatures for this afternoon as we climb back in the 80s.

much better shape say come 11:00. then very warm and muggy afternoon with highs in the low 70s. it's a pivotal day in florida, make or break day for several candidates hoping to win your vote. the polls open this morning at 7:00. >> a lot is riding on the sunshine state with 99 delegates up for grabs in the race for the gop nomination. democrats get the chance to take home 214. >> it's super tuesday 3, florida is one of five states voting today along with illinois, missouri, north carolina and ohio. >> next to florida, illinois is the next big catch for democrats, 156 delegates. ohio 143 delegates. north carolina at 107. and missouri with 71. hillary clinton is leading now in delegates with 1,235. she's halfway there. on the republican side, north carolina has 72 delegates at stake.

ohio has 66 and missouri has 52. 1,237 delegates needed for the nomination. donald trump is the closest to the number now with 460 total. while every win is important all of the candidates know that florida is crucial. abc action news reporter ashley yore is live at the hillsborough county county supervisor of elections office breaking down why our state is the big prize. >> reporter: it's winner take all when it comes to the delegates on the republican side. not that same sweep for the democrats but still could be a good indicator of who the nominee will be. let's talk democrats first. hillary clinton expected to win florida but voters deciding 214 delegates that can be shared between clinton and bernie sanders. and many of the primary voters today are women, clinton has shown a strong lead over sanders with women. sanders has said that even if

to continue on in the race. now on to the republicans. it's winner take all when it comes to delegates. marco rubio has even said this week whoever wins florida is going to be the nominee. here's what the political expert we spoke with says about the 99 delegates up for grabs. >> if donald trump beats marco rubio by one vote in florida he gets all 99. now, you need a little over 1,200 delegates to win your party's nomination. so, if you win florida you're nomination. just by winning florida. which makes it very important. >> reporter: keep in mind more than 1.6 million ballots have already been mailed in, in florida. political experts say that could hurt rubio because they could have been mailed before his anti-trump ads aired and cruz also campaigning hard in florida but experts say he's

for. today. make sure to get out and vote if you have not already. coming up in a half-hour, we're going to remind you what you need to bring with you to make sure you can vote today and if you want to look at that now that is also on our web site, abcactionnews.com under story links. for now reporting live, ashley yore, abc action news. >> stay up to date throughout the day. we'll have polling information, primary results and also candidate judgments on air and on-line at abcactionnews.com. florida primary newscast tonight at 7:00 p.m. we'll be live when the polls close and you can expect us to have the latest. >> of course some of the races may not be decided until late starting 4:30. we'll have complete results and also analysis. an update now to a maryland police shooting that we first told but yesterday morning. officer jakai colson was killed by friendly fire.

officer accidentally mortally wounded colson as a gunman ambushed his police station. police say 22-year-old michael ford is the man who opened fire on the station. nord was wounded in the shootout and ford's two younger brothers as you saw there also under arrest this morning. they are accused of recording the ambush on their cell phones. as the probe into what caused this packed amtrak train derailment in kansas gets underway the focus now turning to the condition of the train tracks. the ntsb says there are some signs the rail was misaligned but it's too soon to tell exactly what caused seven cars yesterday. more than 30 people were hurt in the accident. but the most of the nearly 150 people on board were able to walk away without injuries. this morning funeral plans are now in place for hillsborough county deputy killed in a wrong way crash over the weekend. we're also learning that deputy john kotfila may have saved

sarah gerren is calling the deputy a hero. she and her boyfriend were driving on the selmon expressway when they saw the wrong way driver. she says the deputy passed their car, his patrol car, and took the brunt of the impact. she says she wishes she had a chance to thank the deputy for his selfless act. >> i truly do feel that the world is a sadder place without him. he didn't know me and he sacrificed himself for me. >> a funeral service for the deputy is scheduled for today in lutz. excuse me for friday in lutz at st. timothy's catholic church on lake shore road at 1:00. public visitation starts at 11:00. he will then be laid to rest in massachusetts. largo police still need your help to figure out how a woman found dead in some bushes died. officers are calling 34-year- old tonya's death suspicious but won't say exactly yet how she died. we told you yesterday someone found her near 145th street

we turn to the latest on the investigation into the kalamazoo, michigan shooting suspect. we're just now learning the alleged shooter and uber driver jason dalton told police that the uber app controlled his life. dalton said the app "has the ability to take you over" and controlled him like an artificial presence. he told police all the problems started when he pressed a button on the screen and a devil head would appear. the revelations of last month's shooting spree were disclosed yesterday in at least 100 pages of documents. dalton is accused of shooting and killing six people and injuring two others during a shooting spree on february 20th. all eyes will be back on the pinellas county courtroom today, the trial for hulk hogan's $100 million lawsuit against gawker.com resumes today. testified yesterday. he's the man who wrote the article and got the tape. lawyers for hogan played a portion of the 2013 tape for the jury.

sarcastic and consistently unapologetic. >> it's not out loud but it's a smirk. >> you don't think the first amendment is that serious, do you? >> it's very serious. >> he said on the stand he received a bonus for $2,000 after posting that tape. gawker is estimated to have increased in value by $15 million because of increased web traffic. dangerous visibility in parts of the bay area. i will let you know coming up in a few minutes, when the fog will lift and what you can expect for the rest of the day. still to come -- something we have not heard before from an nfl official. what he is admitting about the dangers of head trauma on the

5. 45. we have a traffic alert to be aware of. the sunshine skyway is closed because of heavy fog in the area. you're advised to use i-75 instead. janelle has more on how it's impacts the morning commute in a second. we're getting a look at the moment a police officer pepper sprays a group of bikers. if you keep watching you can see the officer, over here, opens up a can of spray, just as those bikers pass by. take that video full if you can. this video was taken along a highway in fort, texas and

texas and posted on facebook. the police department is investigating and trying to find witnesses. an nfl official is finally acknowledging there's a link between football and the brain disease associated by memory loss, depression and dementia. the nfl didn't previously link playing football to cte, a disease caused by repeated brain trauma. the disease can only be detected after death and there's no cure for it now. a boston university researcher found cte in at least 90 former pro football players. a family of makeup artists who died just week after being knowed with an aggressive -- diagnosed with a aggressive form of cancer are raising money -- >> they initially thought she was pregnant but soon discovered it was not a baby growing in her, it was a tumor. 22-year-old demi wright last november started to have back pain and doctors thought it was because her body was producing hormones associated with pregnancy.

pregnant. then further testing showed a large tumor and cancer spreading throughout her body. sadly she died just three weeks after her diagnosis. now her family set up a gofundme page to raise awareness for other people who may be misdiagnosed. happening now -- two mushers are racing the final 22 miles of the iditarod sled dog race. these are pictures of the finish line the race posted on facebook as crews prepare to welcome the mushers and theirdomsdogs into nome, alaska. where it gets interesting, the battle to win this year comes down to the father and son here, three-time champion less than an hour in front of the two-time champion, his son. the winner could cross the race in the next few hours. outside, janelle, you are tracking this breaking alert with the skyway bridge. >> the sunshine skyway is closed due to fog.

down to less than 100 feet at the very top of the bridge. so this is not an easy detour, if you are in st. pete and heading into manatee or sarasota or vice versa. you're going to have to go the long way around. here it is, sunshine skyway closed now due to fog. your options, u.s. 41 or i-75. if you're in st. pete you're going ohave to take one of the other bridges across, either frankland. then go through tampa and come down i-75. the goods news here, the two bridges moving well this morning, 60 and 69 miles an hour. no crashes or breakdowns. i-75 also moving well. but we have some fog. if you run into any you beams. either way you're going to have to leave earliest and we'll keep you posted as soon as it opens back up. so? >> especially for coastal areas where we'll have the fog issues this morning. it's going to be a while as we have so much moisture. you can feel the mugginess,

summer months but that is -- the situation, where further inland we're good. sarasota, there you see a quarter mile and in between reporting stations we have had visibility reported about 100 feet. that is dangerous stuff. with all this moisture coming in off the water as well, a little sprinkle out there, but this is not going to amount to much. we've seen a few patchy sprinkles coming in off pimas and heading into south tampa now -- pinellas and heading into south tampa now. the issue is the low clouds and fog. by the way some areas across the interior, it's enough away from the surface, a few hundred feet up where the visibility is not a problem. case in point, we'll be locked in to a lot of cloud cover early this morning. we have dew points matching the temperatures in the low 70s. very tropical air mass on top of us now. that is going to continue through the day today as temperatures will climb into the upper 70s to lower 80s. and it will feel warmer than that because of the high humidity that is going to

futurecast again showing more fog as we head into tomorrow morning. day event. then we'll begin to see some north. this is the thursday futurecast, there's going to be a boundary well to the north. areas across the nature coast could be seeing shower activity, 20% coverage there but most of us staying dry on thursday. it's friday, when we begin to see the rain chances coming back up. in fact it's going to be a front that is going to hang out with us likely through the early part of the week and with higher rain chances. today mid-80s through the afternoon. 70s along the coast with the fog out there. by the way, we should be 76 this time of year. we'll achieve that pretty well with the temperatures here. stay with the morning fog on wednesday. temperatures continuing into the low 80s. 60s as we head through the joampt. then there's the front, comes in friday through the early part of the week and rain chances 50% to 60% and we clear out and cool off heading into early next week. this morning we're learning

criminal investigation into a kellogg's cereal plant. now a clip posted over the weekend shows a man urinating on the cereal assembly line. in memphis, tennessee. the company says the video which we are not going to show you was filmed in 2014. and now the food and drug criminal investigation. doctors say urine can carry diseases that can sicken anyone who consumes the product. >> the thing you're concerned about the most is any kind of std that can be transmitted through bodily fluid like that. so that would be a concern. >> the doctor went on to say panic. he pointed out that we would know by now if the tainted cereal had been distributed or caused anyone to get sick. a tampa burger king is on abc action news anchor wendy list. the state temporarily shut down burger king on adamo drive kitchen. on march 8th and 9th inspectors

live roaches near the ice cream machine, cooler and prep line. along with roach feces on the shake machine and coolers. burger king's vice president janice matthews released a statement which reads in part "we have cleaned and sanitized the restaurant as well as reinforced the proper sanitation and cleanliness procedures with our restaurant personnel." find all the "dirty dining" reports on our web site, on the home page. there's the prompt there. click on that and it will take you to an article here. it's also in the happening now section on our home page. coming up -- the medicines you rely on are getting more expensive. what is driving the increase in prices and experts tell us if they will get any higher from

5:56. the amount of money you're spending on prescription drugs continues to increase. according to prescription benefit manager express scripts the cost for brand name drugs increased more than 16% last year. prices have nearly doubled since 2011, that's one year after president obama signed the affordable care act into law. exscripts believes drug

this is a place i want to win! >> the fight for florida is finally here. the polls are just about to open in five states. >> taking a live look at a polling place in south tampa which will look much busier one short hour from now. coming up, we've been telling you how important florida is but we have the other crucial state that could pay donald trump's way to the presidency. good morning, thank you for joining us, i'm sarah rosario go. good morning, i'm deiah riley. we'll get to the full democracy 2016 coverage in a minute. first news we need to tell but. the sunshine skyway is closed now because of heavy fog in that area. you can see it there. janelle has been monitoring this throughout the morning. this could create quite a mess for commuters.

good way around the sunshine skyway. they closed the bridge around 5:00 this morning due to fog and you can see is there when heading south on 275 right at 54th avenue south, that is where you'll start to see the cones, they are turning cars around and you'll have to head back north on 275. so again there's no easy way around this detour if you're in st. pete you're going to have the longest way around there because you're going to have to go through one of the other bridges. we can take a look at the bridges for you now. either the gandy bridge or the howard frankland, the good news, both those moving pretty good right now, up to speed. you're going to have to take those all the way to i-75 because that is your detour for the sunshine skyway as long as it's closed. this is what i-75 looks like starting to get a little more cars out there but still wide open, as far as your speed goes. pushing about 65 to 70 miles per hour. it's taking about 25 minutes to get from i-4 to the southern apex with 275 and 75.