An Orange County deputy was injured, and a St. Cloud man was fatally wounded in a crash on the Florida Turnpike last night, as reported by the Florida Highway Patrol. The collision occurred around 7:04 p.m. in the northbound lanes near mile marker 250, north of Osceola Parkway in Kissimmee. ClickOrlando reported that the vehicles involved were an Orange County Sheriff’s Office (OCSO) pickup truck and a sedan.
The OCSO pickup, driven by a 31-year-old deputy from Orlando, reportedly had a mechanical issue that caused the driver to temporarily lose control, resulting in the truck rotating counter-clockwise and becoming disabled across the inside lane. These events ultimately led to a devastating impact, according to the FHP crash report. The deputy was taken to the hospital with minor injuries, while the 37-year-old sedan driver later succumbed to his injuries at the same hospital, as detailed in the FHP records.
In an additional report provided by WESH, officials speculate that the sedan driver was unable to stop and struck the front left of the deputy's disabled vehicle. FHP records noted the deputy was wearing a seatbelt during the crash, whereas the sedan driver was not.
While the exact nature of the mechanical failure has not been disclosed, it remains a central factor in the ongoing investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. The identity of the St. Cloud man who died has not been released as FHP continues to analyze the circumstances leading up to the collision.
