Two people were killed and one person was airlifted in critical condition in separate crashes that occurred Saturday night and Sunday morning in Lake and Volusia counties, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The first incident occurred in the northbound lanes of Florida’s Turnpike at 11:10 p.m. Saturday night near State Road 19 in Lake County.
FHP said a 66-year-old Crystal River woman driving a 2021 Buick Enclave failed to negotiate a slight curve in the inside lane. The SUV then entered the paved shoulder and struck the concrete traffic barrier, causing the vehicle to rotate and strike the outside concrete traffic barrier before entering the path of a second vehicle also traveling north.
The Enclave was then struck by a 2015 Toyota Rav5 driven by an 82-year-old Fruitland Park man.
The Crystal River woman, who was not wearing a seat belt, was taken to Leesburg Regional Hospital and pronounced dead, the FHP report said. The Fruitland Park man, who was wearing a seat belt, remained at the scene and was not injured.
The investigation into the crash is still ongoing.
Then at 2:17 a.m., a two-vehicle head-on collision was reported in Volusia County on U.S. Highway 17 north of DeLeon Springs at the intersection with Lake Winona Road.
In that incident, FHP reported that a 2003 Chevy Silverado truck driven by a 22-year-old DeLand man was traveling southbound on U.S. Hwy 17 when it entered the northbound portion of the highway, striking the front of a 2015 Jeep Wrangler driven by a 19-year-old DeLand woman.
According to the FHP report, the Jeep left the highway, overturned and burned.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene, while the truck driver was airlifted to hospital in Halifax in critical condition.
The investigation into the crash is still ongoing.
