A rollover crash in Orange County left three people dead, and another seriously injured, on Thursday evening.
According to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol, the fatal crash occurred at around 6:15 p.m. on Thursday, January 23, near the intersection of N Hiawassee Road and Hiawassee Meadows Drive.
FHP stated that three people were traveling northbound on N Hiawassee Road, south of the Hiawassee Meadows Drive intersection, in a 2003 Jeep Liberty.
A second vehicle – a 2019 Ram 2500 pickup truck – was heading southbound on N Hiawassee Road, near the same intersection, in the inside lane.
A witness told FHP investigators that the driver of the SUV lost control near the intersection, and the vehicle crossed over the median and began overturning.
The SUV then entered the direct path of the pickup truck, and the front of the truck collided with the left side of the SUV. After the initial impact, the SUV came to a final rest overturned on its roof.
During the crash, the SUV’s driver was ejected from the vehicle. When paramedics arrived on scene, the three occupants of the SUV – all adult males – were pronounced deceased.
“The Medical Examiner’s Office will update FHP once they have positively identified the deceased,” said a trooper in the report. The trooper further noted that two of the SUV’s occupants – the driver and one of the passengers – were not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
The driver and sole occupant of the pickup truck, identified in the report as a 42-year-old Kissimmee woman, was transported to Orlando Regional Medical Center for treatment of injuries deemed “serious but non-life-threatening.”
The crash remains under investigation, according to FHP.