Head-On Crash in New Smyrna Beach Kills One

On Sunday morning, several cars along State Road 44, close to the intersection of Pioneer Trail, were involved in a car accident that left one person dead and another hospitalized. The details of the situation are so far murky, however there is a report from the Florida Highway Patrol that gives the public a general outline of the circumstances surrounding the incident and some of the most pertinent facts about the individuals involved.

According to the report, around 2:35 in the morning, the 25-year-old Juan Guntin was behind the wheel of a four-door 2006 Mitsubishi, eastbound on State Road 44, while the 49-year-old Raymond Fontana, a Deltona resident who was driving a 2001 Ford pickup truck, was headed west. The problem was that Fontana was driving in the eastbound lanes. The collision between the two was fast and violent. Head-on collisions are the most devastating sort of crash involving two cars. Due to the fact that both vehicles are traveling in opposite directions, the force of the impact is the result of their combined speeds. That means if Fontana was driving at 60mph and Guntin was driving at 70, the resulting crash was as violent as a car ramming into a concrete wall while traveling at 130 mph. That anyone ever survives such a horrible accident is, in itself, a miracle.

By the time the Florida Highway Patrol arrived on the scene, Guntin had already died. Fontana, trapped in his pickup truck, somehow survived the initial collision. He was rushed to Halifax Medical Center where he was admitted as being in critical condition. There has yet to be another update on his health.

State Road 44 was closed for several hours while police first investigated and then cleaned up the crash site. While the authorities have yet to issue any concrete charges, it is likely that they will need to perform tests on Fontana to determine whether or not he was under the influence of any unusual substances at the time of the crash. Barring that, it is not known what exactly caused the middle-aged man to drive his car on the wrong side of the highway.

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.