An 18-year-old man was killed early Friday morning in a three-vehicle crash in Ocala.
Officers from the Ocala Police Department and crews from Ocala Fire Rescue were called to the crash scene at the intersection of E State Road 40 and NE 25th Avenue shortly before 1:30 a.m. and when they arrived, they found a red Hyundai flipped on its roof and wrapped around a telephone pole, a white Ford Fusion on its roof and a blue Ford Mustang sitting upright in a nearby grassy area.
The driver of the Hyundai, Dusty Ray Rhoads Jr., a 2019 graduate of The Villages High School, was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger in the Ford Fusion was ejected during the incident and required immediate medical attention, while the driver was trauma alerted to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. The Mustang’s driver also was transported to an area hospital for treatment.
The preliminary investigation revealed that the crash could have been the result of excessive speed through the intersection. Ocala Police traffic homicide investigators are working the incident and any criminal violations have yet to be determined.
Units from Marion County Fire Rescue and troopers from the Florida Highway Patrol also responded to the crash.