Three-Car Crash Near Leesburg Kills 82-Year-Old Okahumpka Man

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on December 7, 2021

Investigators with the Florida Highway Patrol operating within Lake County have opened an official inquiry into a deadly wrong-way car accident involving multiple vehicles that occurred Monday evening along U.S. Highway 27 and claimed the life of an 82-year-old man from Okahumpka.

According to preliminary reports from responding officers with the Florida Highway Patrol, it was approximately 6:40 p.m on December 6, 2021, when a 36-year-old woman from Clermont was driving an SUV in the southbound direction of U.S. 27 in Lake County. Directly behind her sport utility vehicle was a 24-year-old man from Clermont who was also driving an SUV in the same lane. As the two vehicles approached the highway’s intersection with El Presidente Boulevard, an 82-year-old man from Okahumpka seemingly appeared from nowhere and was driving his passenger sedan in the wrong direction against the southbound lane’s flow of traffic. The lead SUV was unable to maneuver her vehicle out of the path of the oncoming sedan and the two vehicles collided head-on. Due to the close proximity of the first accident, the second SUV slammed into the wrecked vehicles almost immediately after the initial crash.

Multiple Lake County and Leesburg authorities were dispatched to the scene of the multi-vehicle pileup in order to render assistance to the potentially injured individuals. Once they arrived at the crash site, emergency medical teams quickly determined that the 82-year-old Okahumpa driver had sustained life-threatening injuries during the collision and had already passed away. The 34-year-old female driver and the 24-year-old male driver were stabilized and medevaced to Orlando Health and Ocala Regional Medical Center in serious condition.

The cause of this auto accident has yet to be determined and remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. It is possible that the 82-year-old driver suffered some sort of medical episode while he was behind the wheel, that he was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or that the vehicle itself suffered a malfunction. These factors will certainly be taken into consideration as the FHP detectives continue to work the case.

Since 1977, Lake County auto accident attorney James O. Cunningham has been compassionately fighting for the rights of car crash victims. If you would like to schedule a free 30-minute case evaluation, please contact us today at 877-FL-INJURY.

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.