ZEPHYRHILLS – A 19-year-old Tampa man is dead after a collision on County Road 54 in Pasco County on Friday afternoon, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The crash occurred around 12:30 p.m. in a rural, residential area near Zephyrhills, right outside the Upper Hillsborough Reserve. The woman and her two passengers were traveling eastbound on a long, two-lane road on CR 54 when they came up behind a semitrailer.
The sedan followed behind the semi until it attempted to pass it near Howard Boulevard, a one-lane residential road. The sedan veered into the westbound lane of CR 54 and had nearly cleared the semi when the driver noticed another semi heading her way. The woman veered back into the eastbound lane – clipping the front, left-hand side of the semi she was trying to pass.
The force of the impact sent the sedan spinning into the shoulder of CR 54, where it ricocheted off a guardrail and went into the path of the oncoming semi in the westbound lane.
The driver of the sedan, a 36-year-old man from Brooksville, struck the left side of the sedan, the crash report said. The semi driver sustained minor injuries in the crash, while the other semi driver was unharmed.
The sedan’s 19-year-old passenger died from his injuries at the scene.
(727) 669-2828
