Car Accidents

March 28, 2024

News: Crystal River man, 81, dies in pickup truck accident

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

CRYSTAL RIVER, FL – A collision in Citrus County early Wednesday morning claimed the life of an elderly driver and injured two other people, WTVT reports.

The Florida Highway Patrol responded to the scene on West Fort Island Trail near West Audobon Lane after the incident took place at about 12:20 a.m.

The FHP learned that the driver of a Chevy 3500 pickup truck was heading east and tried to pass a Kia Sportage SUV that was in front of him. The pickup truck struck the left side of the Kia, then went off the road, onto the shoulder, and crashed into two trees. The Kia also went off the road, hitting a cable box and a tree before flipping.

March 26, 2024

News: 2 men dead after collision at Pasco County intersection

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

PASCO COUNTY, FL – A collision at an intersection in Pasco County killed two men in one of the vehicles, according to WFLA.

The Florida Highway Patrol said two vehicles crashed at State Road 54 and Virginia City Drive on Saturday afternoon just before 3 p.m.

The FHP learned that the driver of a Kia Sorento was speeding while traveling west on State Road 54 when the driver of a Lexus RX entered the intersection and turned into the path of the Kia.

March 22, 2024

News: Driver killed when car hits his disabled van on Interstate 75

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

MARION COUNTY, FL – One person was killed and six others injured in a collision on Interstate 75 in Marion County Wednesday night, WKMG reports.

The incident took place along I-75 south about four miles north of State Road 326. The Florida Highway Patrol’s investigation determined that a van had become disabled in the center lane of the interstate at about 10 p.m. as the result of a prior crash.

Another driver heading south on I-75 did not see the van in time and crashed into the back of it. The 71-year-old van driver died after being taken to an area hospital. His five passengers, three women and two men all in their 70s, were hospitalized with serious injuries. All occupants of the van were from Ocala.

March 15, 2024

News: Collision in Zephyrhills leaves 1 dead, 2 seriously injured

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol was called to the scene of a fatal collision involving two vehicles in Pasco County on Wednesday night.

New Port Richey Patch reports the accident happened on Chancey Road north of Correia Drive in Zephyrhills. According to the FHP’s investigation, a woman was driving north on Chancey Road shortly before 7:30 p.m. when she lost control of her vehicle while going around a curve and crossed over the center line.

The vehicle collided nearly head-on with another vehicle. The driver of the first vehicle, a 44-year-old woman from Apollo Beach, was pronounced dead at the scene.

March 8, 2024

News: 3 injured, including child, in Ocala collision involving SUV and pickup

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

OCALA, FL – Three people were injured after a collision at an Ocala intersection on Tuesday morning, reports WCJB.

First responders were called to the scene in the area of Northeast 40th Avenue Road and Northeast 36th Avenue. The incident involved a sport utility and a pickup truck, according to fire rescue crews. The vehicles collided and the pickup overturned as a result.

A child was extricated from the SUV and was rushed to an area hospital, along with two other injured victims. No details were immediately released on their conditions.

March 7, 2024

News: Marion County Fire Rescue ambulance involved in head-on crash

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

MARION COUNTY, FL – Three people were injured in a collision involving a Marion County Fire Rescue ambulance on Tuesday morning.

According to the rescue squad’s Facebook post, the accident happened in the vicinity of SW 83d Ave Road and SW Highway 484 at 8:55 a.m. Rescue crews arrived to find that an ambulance had been involved in a head-on crash with a passenger vehicle, with both vehicles ending up on the side of the road. The ambulance had been responding to a routine medical call prior to the accident.

The driver of the car was trapped in the wreckage and extricated by rescuers, then was taken to an area trauma hospital. Marion County Fire Rescue said two of its first responders were evaluated at the scene and taken to an area hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening. The two, a firefighter paramedic and firefighter EMT, were in stable condition.

March 6, 2024

News: Ocala man, 64, dies after pickup slams into guardrail and building

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

MARION COUNTY, FL – A crash in Marion County on Monday morning killed the driver of a pickup truck, WKMG reported.

The driver was going north on State Road 35 near Larch Road when the wreck occurred at about 8:45 a.m. The Florida Highway Patrol reported that the pickup traveled off the road, crashed into a metal guardrail, kept going north and struck a building on Baseline Road.

The driver, a 64-year-old man from Ocala, died after being transported to an area hospital.

March 4, 2024

News: 2 victims of crash on SE 36th Ave identified as Ocala couple

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

OCALA, FL – Authorities have identified the two people who died in a car wreck in Ocala last month, the Ocala Star-Banner reports.

The victims were 30-year-old Spencer Holden and his wife, 35-year-old Samantha Holden, both of Ocala.

The accident happened Feb. 20 on Southeast 36th Avenue near Southeast 15th Street at about 8:30 p.m. An investigation determined that Spencer Holden was driving a Mazda in the southbound outside lane with a Mercedes GLC 300 SUV behind him.

March 1, 2024

News: Hernando County man killed in Inverness rollover accident

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

INVERNESS, FL – A single-vehicle accident in Citrus County early Monday morning left a driver dead, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

According to WTSP, it was determined that the driver was headed south on U.S. 41 in Inverness at about 4:15 a.m. when he lost control of the vehicle. The vehicle entered a construction zone south of Davidson Avenue and hit a water pipe. The vehicle went airborne, collided with a tree and overturned.

The driver, a 62-year-old Hernando County man, suffered fatal injuries. His name was not immediately released.

February 27, 2024

Social Media Can Hurt You Personal Injury Claim: Irish Woman Loses $820,000 After Pic Emerges of Her Tossing Christmas Tree | Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Whittel & Melton

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

A woman in Ireland recently learned the hard way that social media is not your friend when it comes to a legal dispute, like a personal injury claim.

After a photo of the 36-year-old woman winning a competition to see who could throw a tree the farthest surfaced online, an Irish court denied the mother’s $820,000 insurance claim.

In 2017, the woman apparently claimed in disclosures made before Ireland’s High Court that she suffered from “debilitating pain” from a car accident that prevented her from lifting heavy objects and kept her in bed on bad days.