Two women injured in Hawthorne Road crash

Staff report from Florida Highway Patrol release

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – A 27-year-old Ocala woman was critically injured and a 60-year-old Hawthorne woman was seriously injured this morning in a crash on Hawthorne Road in the Grove Park area.

At about 7:45 a.m. on July 18, an SUV driven by the Ocala woman was traveling east on SR 20 (Hawthorne Road) near SE 159th Street, and a sedan driven by the Hawthorne woman was traveling west on SR 20. For unknown reasons, the SUV traveled off the roadway onto the southern grassy shoulder of SR 20, and the SUV began rotating. The SUV traveled across both eastbound lanes and into the center grass median, where it overturned and entered the westbound lanes, hitting the sedan.

The Ocala woman was ejected from the SUV and was transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries; the Hawthorne woman was transported to the hospital with serious injuries but is in stable condition.

Florida Highway Patrol reported that due to the damage to both vehicles, it is currently unknown whether seatbelts were worn by either driver at the time of the crash. This information is preliminary, and the crash is under investigation.