SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – One teenager has been killed, three more injured, and one faces a felony after a severe crash in Sumter County, Florida Highway Patrol said.
On Monday afternoon, Dodge Charger was “recklessly moving south at high speed at speed. The driver was a 17-year-old boy from Inverness, with four boys in the car along with him, ages 13, 15, 16 and 17.
FHP said the driver was trying to overtake slower traffic and turned and left the road to avoid a collision.
Dodge struck a tree on the side of the highway, erupting in flames before the driver got out of the car, removed the license plate and escaped on foot.
Troopers and Sumter County Sheriff’s deputies pursued him to a chicken coop on nearby property and took him into custody.
All four passengers and the driver were injured when crashed, and one 16-year-old was taken to a local hospital where he was killed. The driver and two other passengers suffered minor injuries, while the fifth passenger was seriously injured, FHP said.
The teenage driver has been charged with multiple felony charges, including the scene of a crash that involved murder and death of a vehicle.