PUTNAM COUNTY, Fla. — Two Orlando men were among three people killed Thursday evening in a four-vehicle crash in Putnam County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash happened around 7:06 p.m. on State Road 100 near Bardin Road.
Troopers said a 64-year-old Alachua man was driving a sedan east on State Road 100 when he crossed into the westbound lane while attempting to pass two pickup trucks.
The driver failed to account for the distance between his vehicle and an approaching westbound sedan, FHP said. The vehicles collided nearly head-on.
The westbound sedan was driven by a 23-year-old Orlando man and carried a 26-year-old male passenger from Orlando.
Both Orlando men and the 64-year-old Alachua driver died in the crash, according to FHP. Their names have not been released.
The force of the initial collision caused the Alachua man’s sedan to strike one of the pickup trucks. Both vehicles traveled down an embankment, and the sedan overturned several times before stopping on its side.
The pickup’s 46-year-old driver from Palatka suffered minor injuries.
A second pickup truck drove over an engine that had separated from the Orlando men’s sedan during the collision. Its 24-year-old driver and 27-year-old passenger, both from Moultrie, Georgia, were not injured.
FHP initially listed the crash as occurring during the morning but issued a correction Friday confirming that it happened during the evening.
The crash remains under investigation.
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