Five killed, including 1-year-old, in head-on collision on Florida highway

(NEW YORK) — Five people, including a 1-year-old girl, were killed in a near-head-on collision on a Florida highway Sunday night, authorities said.

A 2015 Ford Explorer traveling north crossed the center line of the highway and collided nearly head-on with a 2021 Nissan Frontier, the Florida Highway Patrol said in a press release.

The 20-year-old female driver of the SUV and three of the vehicle’s six passengers, including 1-year-old and 12-year-old girls, suffered fatal injuries, the FHP said. A 56-year-old woman was also killed. The other three passengers, girls and women ages 5, 22 and 31, were in serious condition, according to the FHP.

It’s unclear why the SUV crossed over the highway, the FHP said. The incident happened at 9:22 p.m. on SR-39 in Hillsborough County, north of Plant City and about 25 miles northeast of Tampa. The driver and all passengers were wearing seatbelts or in child restraints, according to the FHP.

After the initial accident took place, a tractor-trailer collided with the pickup truck, which was in the southbound lane with no lights illuminating it following the crash, according to the press release.

The pickup truck driver, a 53-year-old man, suffered fatal injuries at the scene, the FHP said. The 1-year-old died at an area hospital, the highway patrol said.

The driver of the tractor-trailer, a 60-year-old man, suffered no injuries, according to the FHP.