Four Teens Injured, One Killed in Apopka Crash

The Florida Highway Patrol has issued a report on a Thursday afternoon crash in the Orange County city of Apopka that resulted in numerous injuries and at least one fatality.  The crash took place close to 5:00pm and involved only one vehicle.  The Florida Highway Patrol responded to the incident and assisted with the initial investigation into the reasons behind the fatal crash.  At the time of this writing, the investigation is still underway, although it is believed that charges are currently pending against one of the individuals involved.

The report from the Florida Highway Patrol indicates that a 19-year-old Apopka resident was behind the wheel of 2014 four-door Ford.  Driving down the eastern lanes of Golden Gem Road, the car contained, in addition to its 19-year-old driver, a 16-year-old Mount Dora resident, a 14-year-old Mount Dora resident, a 17-year-old Apopka resident, and a 15-year-old also from Apopka.

For reasons that are currently one of the primary focuses of the investigation, the driver of the Ford lost control of the vehicle.  Before they were able to regain a hold over the car, one of the front tires collided with the curb along the eastern lane of Golden Gem Road.  This caused the wheel to wrench violently in the other direction, and the vehicle hurtled across the eastern lanes and the western lanes before colliding with a large pole and flipping over.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, only two of the people inside of the vehicle, the driver and the 15-year-old, were using seatbelts at the time of the incident.  The 19-year-old driver was injured in the crash and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment.  The report stated that the 14-year-old received serious injuries and the 17-year-old received critical injuries.  The 15-year-old was also injured, and their injuries were described as being minor.

It was the 16-year-old Mount Dora teenager who suffered the most in the crash, and the report indicated that there was nothing for the first responders to do for this individual when they arrived.  The 16-year-old was declared dead at the scene.

While the investigation is still ongoing, we do know that the Florida Highway Patrol has ruled out alcohol as a contributing factor to this devastating incident.

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.