Staff report based on Florida Highway Patrol release
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – A Bell man was killed this afternoon in a head-on crash on SR 121 north of Gainesville; a Gainesville woman and four Gainesville teens were injured in the crash.
At about 1:05 p.m. on December 21, Florida Highway Patrol responded to a crash in the area of SR 121 and NW 144th Lane; investigators determined that the vehicles had been traveling in opposite directions and crashed head-on. The investigation is ongoing.
A 26-year-old Bell man, who had been driving a pickup truck, was pronounced deceased at the scene. A 21-year-old Gainesville woman, who had been driving a van, was critically injured, and four Gainesville girls between the ages of 11 and 18, who had been passengers in the van, were seriously injured.
The release states that investigators do not know whether the Bell man was wearing a seatbelt; the driver and two passengers in the van were wearing seatbelts, and two passengers in the van were not wearing seatbelts. The injuries to the teenage girls are reportedly not life-threatening.