One dead, two seriously injured as result of crash on SR 44 in Sumter County, FL
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP)
Sumter County, Florida - A three-vehicle traffic crash that occurred at 5:30 pm on January 17, 2024, resulted in the death of one driver and serious injuries to his passenger and another driver. The vehicle that caused the crash left the area where the crash occurred - on State Road 44 at the intersection of County Road 475, in Sumter County.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP), a vehicle, later described as a dark brown or dark blue, late model, sport utility vehicle (SUV) - whose driver was unidentified at the time of the FHP press release - was traveling south on County Road 475, and failed to yield to traffic at a stop sign at the intersection of State Road 44 and entered into the intersection.
In the intersection, the SUV entered into the path of a Nissan Altima car, driven by a 32 year-old man from Inverness, Florida, that was traveling west on State Road 44, approaching the intersection of County Road 475. In an attempt to avoid a collision with the SUV - the driver of the Nissan Altima cat steered to the left, traveling into the eastbound lanes of State Road 44, where the vehicle collided with a Chevrolet pickup truck, driven by a 39 year-old man from Oxford, Florida, that was traveling east on State Road 44, approaching the intersection of County Road 475.
Following the collision, the Nissan Altima car and the Chevrolet pickup truck both caught fire, and the dark colored SUV fled the scene of the crash.
The driver of the pickup truck was transported to an area hospital where he later expired from injuries suffered during the crash. His passenger, a 16 year-old female, suffered serious injuries, as did the driver of the Nissan Altima car.
Anyone with information regarding the dark-colored SUV that left the scene, or its driver, is asked to call *FHP (*347) or Crime Stoppers at **TIPS.