At least seven crashes tie up Florida highway

(Reuters) - A collision on Florida's Interstate 75 on Friday sparked a series of additional crashes involving dozens of cars, shutting the roadway and leaving at least 52 people injured, a spokesman for the Florida Highway Patrol said.

The initial accident, which occurred on Friday afternoon near the border of Sarasota and Manatee counties on the west coast of Florida south of Tampa, is believed to have been caused by weather conditions and driver error, said spokesman Chris Miller. He said he expected the highway would be reopened within a few hours.

"We're unsure as to how many separate collisions we had," said Miller, adding there were no expected fatalities.

At least 47 vehicles were damaged in seven crashes. Among the 52 people reported injured, 32 were transported to hospitals, Miller said.

(Reporting By Edith Honan; Editing by Peter Cooney)