WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — One teenager is dead, and another is critically injured after a crash in Winter Haven on Monday afternoon.
The Polk County Sheriff's Office said deputies, along with Polk County Fire Rescue, responded to the crash on Spirit Lake Road south of Oakwood Estates Community around 3:06 p.m.
When they arrived, first responders found the two teenagers, a 17-year-old male driver and a 15-year-old female passenger, trapped inside a white 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck.
Officials said the driver passed away at the scene. The passenger suffered head trauma, a brain bleed, facial fractures, lung damage and "various broken bones." She was taken to a Tampa hospital in critical but stable condition.
After reviewing evidence from the scene, detectives said the truck was traveling south on Spirit Lake Road when it entered a curve, and the driver lost control. The truck then exited the west side of the road and struck an oak tree.
Officials are still working to determine if seatbelts were used and also noted that the roads, which were wet from rain, could be a factor in the crash.
'Cruise lights' on Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office patrol cars raise questions, confusion among drivers
Every driver knows that when you see red and blue flashing lights on a patrol car, you slow down, pull over, or get out of the way.
But in Hillsborough County, drivers will also now see deputies with their lights on, but not flashing. They're called "cruise lights," and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (HCSO) recently implemented their use on all patrol vehicles.
