An Orlando man drove into a construction zone early Monday, hitting a pickup and sending the truck into the path of two construction workers, one of whom was killed, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The victim, a 35-year-old Flash-Rite Inc. employee from Ocoee, was pronounced dead at the scene. His coworker, a 48-year-old Apopka man who was also struck, was seriously injured and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center.
The crash took place about 2:30 a.m. near the intersection of Narcoossee Road and Emerson Lake Boulevard, said the FHP’s Lt. Kim Montes.
After causing the crash, the 26-year-old Orlando man, who had been driving a sedan south on Narcoossee Road, got out of his car and ran toward a nearby marsh, the FHP said.
But two off-duty Florida agricultural officers working with the construction site detained him; and he was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, Montes said. Charges are pending against him.
The Apopka man was taken to surgery, but is expected to be OK, said Flash-Rite Inc. owner Lisa Williams. The Maitland company has been operating since 1997, and has about 50 employees, specializing in industrial rental equipment for lane closures, barricades, crowd control, and parades, according to its LinkedIn profile.
“Nothing about this is OK, but I am told he is expected to be OK,” Williams said about the Apopka man. “This is heartbreaking. I’ve worked with (them) for a long time. This is uncharted territory for us.”
Prior to the crash, the Flash-Rite employees were setting up a traffic separator for vehicles to pass into a traffic shift lane.
The sedan driver failed to pass through the traffic shift, and instead drove into the construction lanes, striking the oncoming John Hall truck.
Two other workers on the site also received minor injuries, according to Montes.
Troopers have not placed the Orlando man under arrest at this time due no witnesses having seen the man behind the wheel sedan. However, troopers have launched an investigation. The FHP has not yet determined if the sedan was traveling at a high rate of speed, but is looking into that as well, Montes said, and noted that 88% of all reported crashes involve speeding.
One trooper detected hints of “impairment” from the Orlando man, Montes said. His blood is being tested for alcohol or other drugs, the results of which could take six to eight weeks to process.
This is a developing story, check back here for updates.
