An Ocala driver was killed in a fatal head-on collision on Maricamp Road this morning after his pickup truck veered off the side of the road, struck a traffic sign, and careened through two ditches before crossing into oncoming traffic.
The fatal crash occurred on Friday, July 10, at approximately 10:08 a.m., just west of the intersection of County Road 464 (Maricamp Road) and SE 51st Avenue, and just southeast of Forest High School.
According the Florida Highway Patrol, a 67-year-old man was driving a pickup truck westbound in the outside lane of CR 464 when he failed to maintain his lane and ran off the right side of the roadway.
The truck collided with a traffic sign and continued traveling north off the road, where it struck two separate ditches.
After hitting the ditches, the pickup truck re-entered the westbound lanes, veered across the roadway to the left, and entered the oncoming eastbound lanes.
At that point, the front right side of the pickup truck struck the front left side of an oncoming sport utility vehicle that was traveling eastbound in the outside lane.
The momentum of the crash sent the pickup truck off the left side of the roadway again, where it crashed through a fence, redirected toward the south, and finally came to a rest after slamming into a tree.
The driver of the SUV was able to safely relocate his vehicle to the right shoulder of the road to await emergency personnel.
The 67-year-old Ocala man driving the pickup truck sustained fatal injuries in the wreck, and FHP confirmed that his next of kin has been officially notified. The report notes that the man was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident.
A passenger in the pickup truck, identified as a 52-year-old Ocala woman, suffered serious injuries. The report notes that she was not wearing a seatbelt.
The driver of the SUV, a 59-year-old Ocala man, was wearing his seatbelt and sustained only minor injuries.
The fatal collision remains under active investigation by FHP.
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