Alachua man and two Orlando men killed in Putnam County head-on crash

Staff report

PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. – A 64-year-old Alachua man and two Orlando men were killed last night when the Alachua man’s vehicle hit an oncoming vehicle while he was trying to pass two other cars on State Road 100 in Putnam County.

At about 7:06 p.m. on October 1, the Alachua man was driving a sedan eastbound on State Road 100 near Bardin Road when he crossed into the westbound travel lane in an attempt to pass two vehicles in front of him. Florida Highway Patrol reported that while passing, he failed to observe the closing distance between his vehicle and a sedan driven by a 23-year-old Orlando man, and the front left of the Alachua man’s vehicle collided with the front left of the Orlando man’s car. The second occupant of the Orlando man’s car was a 26-year-old Orlando man.

After the impact, the Alachua man’s vehicle hit the left side of a pickup truck that had been traveling eastbound in front of him, driven by a 46-year-old Palatka man, and both of those vehicles traveled down the southern embankment of State Road 100.

The Alachua man’s sedan overturned several times before coming to rest on its right side. According to the report, he was not wearing a seatbelt, and he suffered fatal injuries.

The Orlando men’s sedan rotated clockwise before coming to rest on the north shoulder of State Road 100. The driver was wearing a seatbelt, but the passenger was not. Both occupants suffered fatal injuries.

The Palatka man’s pickup truck came to rest on the south shoulder. He was wearing a seatbelt, and he suffered minor injuries.

The second vehicle in front of the Alachua man, a pickup truck driven by a 24-year-old man from Moultrie, Georgia, drove over the engine from the Orlando men’s sedan before coming to rest on the south shoulder. The passenger in that vehicle was a 27-year-old Moultrie man. Both occupants were wearing seatbelts, and they were not injured.