An 88-year-old New Smyrna Beach man was killed on Christmas Eve after his car left the roadway and collided with a utility pole.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol report, the fatal single-vehicle crash occurred on U.S. Highway 1 in Volusia County at around 1:15 p.m. on Wednesday, December 24.
An FHP trooper noted in the report that the elderly driver was traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 1, south of S Nova Road, in a Ford Fusion. While in the inside lane, the driver lost control of the car for an unknown reason.
As a result, the car veered off the roadway to the left, and its rear bumper hit a ditch. The car then proceeded to travel off the roadway to the right, where its front windshield was struck by a tree branch.
Moments later, the car crashed into a utility pole before coming to a final rest in the nearby woodline.
The elderly driver was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced deceased.
The crash remains under investigation, according to FHP.