A motorcyclist has died as the result of a collision at a notoriously dangerous intersection on U.S. 301 in Wildwood.
Zachary Louis Swearingen, 26, of Belleview, died at The Villages Regional Hospital following the crash which occurred late Tuesday afternoon at the intersection of U.S. 301 and County Road 472, according to an accident report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
Swearingen had been riding a 2017 Suzuki at 4:20 p.m. traveling north on U.S. 301 when a 2008 Nissan Altima driven by 16-year-old Ethan Timothy Diaz of Fruitland Park, which had been westbound on County Road 472, entered into the path of the motorcycle.
The front of the motorcycle struck the left side of Diaz’s vehicle, the report said. Swearingen, who had been wearing a helmet, was thrown from the motorcycle.
Diaz suffered serious injuries and was transported by ambulance to Ocala Regional Medical Center.
Swearingen had been employed by Pike’s Electric in Wildwood since 2016. He was a graduate of Forest High School in Ocala.
That Wildwood intersection has long been a source of concern. A motorcyclist suffered a broken leg in April 2016 in a collision there. And several people were injured in a crash in October 2015 at the intersection.