A juvenile was airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center Monday night after being struck by a vehicle on Old Winter Garden Road near Blackwood Avenue in Ocoee, according to police. The driver stayed at the scene, and officers say the juvenile's age and condition have not been released.
According to WESH 2, the Ocoee Police Department responded to the vehicle-versus-pedestrian crash on Old Winter Garden Road Monday night. As reported by WFTV, officers responded around 7:45 p.m. to the scene near Blackwood Avenue. Police told WFTV the juvenile was struck while in the roadway, taken first to a local hospital, and then airlifted to Orlando Regional Medical Center for further treatment.
Driver Remained On Scene As Investigation Opened
The driver involved in the crash did not flee and remained at the scene afterward, the station's report states. Beyond that detail, police said no additional information was available at the time of the report, leaving the juvenile's identity, age, and medical condition unconfirmed. WESH 2 has requested more information about the crash and the juvenile's condition, and this remains a developing story.
Old Winter Garden Road runs through a stretch of Ocoee that has seen other serious pedestrian incidents. A separate crash near the intersection of Blackwood Avenue and State Road 50 involved a marked Orange County Sheriff's Office vehicle and left a pedestrian dead, according to the West Orange Times & Observer. In that incident, Ocoee police said officers responded at 9:05 p.m., the pedestrian was pronounced dead at the scene, and the crash remained under investigation. There is no indication that the two incidents are connected.
Pattern Of Pedestrian Crashes In West Orange County
Pedestrian crashes have also made headlines elsewhere in West Orange County this year. In nearby Winter Garden, a vehicle-pedestrian crash on May 28 turned fatal, the Observer reported separately. Police there said a 2021 GMC Sierra was traveling on East Story Road and turned onto South Dillard Street, striking a pedestrian who was crossing within a marked crosswalk; that driver also remained at the scene and cooperated with investigators, and the Winter Garden Police Department's Traffic Homicide Unit took over the investigation. Statewide, the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has flagged pedestrians among road users with the potential for a disproportionately high fatality rate in crashes.
No further details have been released about the condition of the juvenile struck Monday night, and Ocoee police have not indicated whether charges are being considered. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
