Three-Vehicle Crash Near Plant City Claims the Lives of Multiple Victims

By Orlando Personal Injury Attorney on November 1, 2022

According to preliminary reports from an ongoing investigation by troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol, five individuals were killed and several people sustained serious injuries during a multi-vehicle accident last Sunday on State Road 39 in Plant City.

It was close to 9:20 p.m. on October 30, 2022, when a 20-year-old female from Zephyrhills was driving a 2015 Ford Explorer in the northbound direction of State Road 39, roughly 25 miles northeast of Tampa. At this same time, a 53-year-old man from Valrico was driving a 2021 Nissan Frontier along the southern lanes of the same highway. As the two vehicles approached an area close to the Bruton Road intersection, something caused the driver of the Ford Explorer to cross over the center line and crash nearly head-on into the oncoming Nissan Frontier.

After the initial auto accident occurred, the Nissan Frontier came to a stop along the southbound lanes of State Road 39 while the Ford Explorer was pushed onto the shoulder of the highway. Within a matter of minutes, a tractor-trailer traveling in the southbound direction slammed into the side of the Nissan Frontier, whose headlights were off due to damage it sustained in the first crash.

Hillsborough County emergency responders and officers with the Florida Highway Patrol were dispatched to the site of the three-vehicle crash and discovered multiple severely injured victims. The 53-year-old driver of the Nissan Frontier and the 20-year-old driver of the Ford Explorer were both pronounced dead at the scene. In addition to these two fatalities, a 1-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl, and a 56-year-old woman also passed away from injuries suffered in the accident. These victims were all passengers within the Ford Explorer and were properly restrained in their safety seats and belts at the time of the deadly crash. Three other passengers of the Explorer, a 31-year-old woman, a 32-year-old woman, and a 5-year-old child were taken to a local hospital with serious life-threatening injuries. Their current condition is unknown.

The 60-year-old man from Plant City who was driving the semi-truck was unharmed during the collision.

No formal charges have been filed against any parties involved in the fatal accident, however, those circumstances could change at the conclusion of this case depending on the findings of the Florida Highway Patrol.

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.