9AM UPDATE | Southbound lanes on Starkey Road now are open after a deadly accident, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Northbound lanes remain closed while state troopers investigate a deadly early morning traffic crash at Starkey Road and Magnolia Drive.
ORIGINAL STORY | One person died and two suffered traumatic injuries in a two-vehicle traffic crash on Starkey Road in Seminole, officials said.
Shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, a 2013 Dodge Challenger was traveling southbound on Starkey Road while a 2006 Lincoln Mark LT was headed northbound, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
At the intersection of Starkey Rd and Magnolia Drive, the Dodge turned into the path of the Lincoln, resulting in a head-on collision, state troopers said.
The Dodge came to rest in the northbound lanes of Starkey Road. The Lincoln struck a concrete bench, a street sign and a wooden privacy fence before it overturned then hit a utility pole.
Robert Lee Fournier, 56, of Seminole, the driver of the Dodge Challenger, was taken to St. Petersburg General Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
The driver of the Lincoln, a 50-year man also of Seminole, was taken to Bayfront Health St. Petersburg hospital in critical condition. His name was not released, pending notification of next of kin.
Christopher T. Clark, 47, of Seminole, a passenger in the Lincoln, also was taken to Bayfront Health in serious condition.
Alcohol is being investigated as a possible factor, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Steve Gaskins said in a news release and social media tweet.
Starkey Road remains closed in both directions in the area of Magnolia Drive at this time, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
Motorists should seek alternate routes.
