DADE CITY, Fla. — The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating a deadly crash where a toddler was killed.
Officials said at 4:42 p.m. on Friday, a crash was reported on US 98.
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When first responders arrived, they found a 19-month-old dead at the scene.
The driver of the car, 31-year-old Glenda Romero De Diaz was transported to Lakeland Regional Health with head injuries, along with the front-seat passenger who suffered a broken ankle and breast bone.
Two children who were in the back seat were transported to Saint Joseph Hospital in Tampa.
According to the preliminary investigation, the Chevy Cavalier was traveling north on US 98 and began passing another vehicle, despite an oncoming vehicle traveling south.
Romero De Diaz swerved to avoid the collision and went off the road. The car continued through a wire fence and into a wooded area where it struck a pine tree.
It was determined that only the driver was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash. The toddler was in the child safety seat, but it was not secured.
US 98 was completely closed for four hours during the investigation.
The sheriff's office said this is still an on-going investigation.
