POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A go-kart passenger was killed in one of two traffic deaths in Polk County on Saturday.
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office (PCSO) Traffic Homicide Unit is investigating the two separate traffic fatalities.
Around 9:20 p.m. on Saturday, the Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call about a homemade go-kart being struck by a Hyundai Elantra on Alturas Babson Park Cutoff Road (ABC Road) in Bartow.
A 33-year-old man who lives in the area was operating the go-kart with a 38-year-old male passenger, traveling westbound on ABC Road.
According to a PCSO press release, as he slowed down to turn left onto a private driveway, the go-kart was struck from behind by a Hyundai vehicle being driven west by a 21-year-old Lakeland woman.
The passenger was killed. The driver was airlifted to a local hospital in critical condition. The driver of the Hyundai was not injured and remained at the scene.
Earlier at 9:40 a.m., the PCSO received a 911 call concerning a motorcycle crash with injuries on Green Pond Road near San Juan Avenue in Polk City.
A group of motorcycles, led by a 72-year-old Harley-Davidson motorcycle rider from Mascotte, was traveling westbound on Green Pond Road when the lead bike entered the right curve and drifted over the center line and into the eastbound lane, PCSO officials said.
At the same time, there was another group of motorcycles heading eastbound. The lead bike (a Ducati) in the eastbound group was struck by the 72-year-old, and both motorcyclists were ejected.
The 72-year-old was taken to a local hospital, where he died.
The driver of the Ducati, a 61-year-old Tampa man, suffered broken bones and a collapsed lung and remains in the hospital.
This is an ongoing investigation.
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