A pedestrian died early Sunday morning after being struck in a crash involving two vehicles at East International Speedway Boulevard and North Kepler Road in DeLand, just before 5:30 a.m. An 18-year-old woman driving a GMC Sierra and a 44-year-old man driving a Volkswagen Atlas both remained at the scene, and troopers say the person in the road did not survive.
According to ClickOrlando, the crash happened just before 5:30 a.m. Sunday, though Fox 35 Orlando reported troopers responded to the scene at approximately 5:25 a.m. Fox 35 further identified the vehicles involved as a 2000 GMC Sierra and a 2025 Volkswagen Atlas, noting that the pedestrian's identity had not yet been confirmed.
Troopers said the pedestrian died in the crash, and the station's report adds that the person was pronounced dead at the scene. Both drivers stayed put after the collision, and per the same account, neither was injured.
Eastbound US-92 Shut Down Near Kepler Road
The crash triggered a roadblock on the eastbound lanes of U.S. 92 at North Kepler Road in DeLand. As of Sunday morning, officials had not provided a timeline for when the road would reopen, ClickOrlando reported.
The closure echoes other fatal pedestrian crashes that have periodically shut down stretches of the same corridor. In 2017, a pedestrian was struck and killed near U.S. 92 and Kepler Road, prompting troopers to close westbound lanes and reroute traffic south on Kepler Road, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal. In a separate incident reported by WESH, a 19-year-old woman was hit and killed on U.S. 92 around 12:30 a.m. on a Wednesday, after the Florida Highway Patrol said the driver had been traveling westbound in the same lane where she was walking; the driver stayed at the scene.
A Pattern of Deadly Crashes Around DeLand
Other recent DeLand-area crashes point to a recurring danger for people on foot near its roadways. A 37-year-old man was killed one Wednesday night after being struck by a van while lying in the roadway on Spring Garden Avenue near Douglass Avenue, according to the Beacon. That van, a 2020 Ford Transit, was driven by a 63-year-old DeBary man heading northbound; the pedestrian was taken to AdventHealth DeLand, where he was pronounced dead, while the driver was not injured and remained at the scene.
In another case along the same general area, WESH reported that a pedestrian was hit and killed by a car around 5 a.m. at Lanscam Lane just east of DeLand, with the driver not hurt and staying at the scene afterward.
Region Still Ranks Among the Nation's Deadliest for Walkers
Sunday's crash comes as the broader Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach metropolitan area, which covers all of Volusia and Flagler counties, continues to grapple with its reputation as one of the most dangerous places in the country to walk. Smart Growth America's 2026 Dangerous By Design report ranked the metro area 14th worst nationally for pedestrian fatality rates, according to the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
That ranking actually marks an improvement, the News-Journal reported, with the 2026 report showing progress compared with 2024 and especially with 2022, when the same metro area was ranked the single worst in the United States for pedestrian deaths. The biennial report from the nonprofit Smart Growth America compares communities nationwide based on pedestrian fatality rates, offering a grim backdrop against which Sunday's deadly crash unfolded.
