Posted: 21:04, 31 October 2022 | Updated: 21:37, 31 October 2022
Five people – including two young children – were killed when a Ford SUV carrying three girls and four women crashed head-on into a Nissan pickup truck, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The collision occurred when a Ford Explorer – driven by a 20-year-old woman and carrying six female passengers aged one, five, 12, 22, 31 and 56 – crossed the center line of a two-lane northbound highway and hit a Nissan Frontier drives on opposite direction. The 20-year-old driver from Zephyrhills as well as the 1-year-old, 12-year-old and 56-year-old in the Ford died in the crash. The other three occupants of the car were all seriously injured. A 53-year-old man driving the Nissan was also killed and his passenger seriously injured. An 18-wheeler then hit the Nissan, but its driver was not injured. The 2015 Ford Explorer was driven by a 22-year-old driver from Zephyrhills and had six passengers, including a one-year-old baby and a 12-year-old girl, who both died The 2021 Nissan Frontier was hit twice, first by the Ford in a head-on collision and then the passenger side was hit by an 18-wheeler
Five dead out of ten involved in tragic three-vehicle crash near Tampa
2015 Ford Explorer Driver, female, 20 – died Passenger, female, 56 – died Passenger, girl, 12 – died Passenger, girl, one – died Passenger, female, 22 – injured Passenger, female, 31 – injured Passenger, girl, 5 – injured 2021 Nissan Frontier Driver, male, 53 – deceased Passenger, unknown – injured 18 wheeler Driver – survived The crash happened just north of Plant City on the outskirts of Tampa at the intersection of SR-39 and Bruton Road just before 10:00 p.m. Sunday night. All female passengers in the 2015 Ford Explorer were wearing seat belts or a child seat, investigators said. The 53-year-old man driving the Nissan was from Valrico and was traveling south on SR-39. As the vehicles approached each other, the SUV veered onto the center line for “unknown reasons,” troopers said. Both vehicles crashed nearly head-on, they said in their report. After the crash the Ford ended up on the west shoulder of the freeway and the Nissan came to rest in the southbound lane of SR-39 without lights. An 18-wheeler traveling south along SR-39 then struck the passenger side of the damaged Nissan, sending both vehicles into the bank on the side of the road. The driver of the 18-wheeler is from Plant City and was not injured in the crash. The condition of the other four seriously injured is not known at this time and the Florida Highway Patrol is still investigating the crash. The crash happened just north of Plant City on the outskirts of Tampa at the intersection of SR-39 and Bruton Road just before 10:00 p.m. Sunday night
