Four-Car Crash in Polk County Kills Multiple Individuals

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on December 29, 2021

Investigators with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office are currently trying to determine the chain of events behind an alleged abduction and subsequent high-speed chase that led to the deaths of four people, including the suspect, this past Monday along Lake Hatchineha Road.

According to preliminary collision reports from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were first notified of a potential abduction of a female individual after a concerned citizen called 9-1-1 dispatchers. “If you do not stop them I believe he’s gonna kill her. I am dead serious. Please have someone stop that vehicle, she was bleeding,” they said. The unidentified caller also indicated that the alleged captor was driving a black Mazda.

Shortly after receiving notification about the suspicious situation, an officer spotted the alleged suspect’s car leaving the city of Poinciana in the southbound direction of Marigold Avenue. The officer recalls that almost immediately after the emergency lights on the police car were activated, the driver of the Mazda swerved over into the northbound lanes of oncoming traffic on a collision course with multiple other motorists on the road. After the driver of the Mazda performed this dangerous maneuver, the Polk County deputy slowed down and stopped pursuing the vehicle in the hopes that the suspect would cease his erratic driving. Sadly, this would not be the case.

After almost a mile of driving at a high rate of speed, the driver of the Mazda, now identified as 35-year-old Riquelme Villar-Villalona, crashed into a black 2016 Ford F-150 near the intersection of Lake Hatchineha Road and Watkins Road. The impact of this initial auto accident caused the Mazda to become airborne and slam into a gray 2020 Ford Escape while the Ford F-150 simultaneously crashed into a nearby silver 2021 Toyota Tacoma.

Polk County emergency response teams arrived at the multi-vehicle pileup within a matter of minutes and described the crash site as “total carnage.” Two victims from the Ford Escape, a 38-year-old male and his 73-year-old female passenger, were declared dead at the scene. The 48-year-old driver of the Toyota Tacoma was transported to a local hospital where he passed away soon after arrival. Multiple other passengers sustained various injuries and were also taken to the hospital. Their conditions are unknown at this time, however, they were all expected to live at the time of this publication.

The 35-year-old suspect was also killed during the deadly incident. It was later determined that the alleged abduction victim was receiving treatment at a medical facility before the Polk County deputy even located the black Mazda.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.