[PHOTO CREDIT: Lake County Sheriff’s Office]
[Original Publish Date: 04/14/21]
ORANGE COUNTY, Florida — A second person has died from her injuries in a crash resulting from street racing earlier this month, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
On April 2, a 2013 Dodge Charger being driven by 19-year-old man of Davenport was actively racing a 2015 Kia Optima being driven by a 17-year-old boy of Loughman, in Polk County on U.S 192in Orange County. The Charger was traveling westbound in the inside lane behind a 2018 Toyota Rav 4, being driven by a 35-year-old Leesburg woman and the Optima was traveling westbound in the center lane, according to FHP Lt. Kim Montes.
The Charger failed to slow as it approached the Rav 4 and rear-ended the SUV, near Secret Lake Drive; troopers originally believed the crash occurred in Osceola County, but later determined it was in Orange County. The Charger left the roadway and collided with a speed limit sign and the Rav 4 travelled into the median and struck a median warning sign, Montes said. The Optima was struck by debris.
The occupants of the Rav 4 were all injured and an 11-year-old Leesburg girl died at the hospital the night of the crash; a second passenger, a 23-year-old woman also of Leesburg died early Wednesday morning at Osceola Regional Hospital. The driver of the Rav 4 received serious injuries.
The driver of the Charger and his passenger, a 19-year-old Clermont man received minor injuries. The driver of the Optima was not injured.
“According to multiple witnesses, [the Charger] and [the Optima] actively engaged in a street race prior to the collision,” Montes said in a press release. “The crash remains under investigation and charges are pending.”
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Our Editor-in-Chief, Marilyn M. Aciego, began writing for Lake Legal News in 2010. Born and raised in Lake County, she is a graduate of Umatilla High School and Lake-Sumter State College. She started her journalism career at LSSC, where she was editor of both student publications, The Angler and The Odyssey. Her professional career began at the Daily Commercial in 2004 where she covered cops and courts the majority of her time there until she left in 2009. Currently, along with being Editor-in-Chief of Lake Legal News, she is the Florida bureau chief for an international media organization. She has made more than two dozen appearances on live national television, including Nancy Grace and the Greta Van Susteren show, along with her appearance on Evil Twins. Contact her with breaking news, tips, and feedback by sending an e-mail to 352Tips@gmail.com. You can also contact us on our Facebook page — and make sure you “Like” and “Follow us” there. [PHOTO CREDIT: Bonnie Whicher]
