A wrong-way driver on State Road 414 near Apopka slammed head-on into a Ford Mustang before dawn Saturday, setting the Mustang ablaze and sending three people to the hospital, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The crash happened around 4:51 a.m. near mile marker 9, just east of U.S. 441, when a 2007 Mercury Grand Marquis traveled westbound in the eastbound inside lane, directly into the path of oncoming traffic.
The Mustang’s 22-year-old driver, an Apopka resident, swerved left toward the inside shoulder trying to avoid the oncoming Grand Marquis, but the front right portions of both vehicles struck each other anyway, according to WESH. The impact caused the 2021 Mustang to rotate and strike the center median concrete barrier wall, after which the vehicle caught fire. Troopers said the Mustang’s driver suffered minor injuries and was hospitalized.
The Grand Marquis was carrying two people: its 30-year-old driver, who lives in Clarcona, and a male passenger. Both were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, FHP told the outlet. Investigators said they do not yet know why the Mercury was traveling in the wrong direction, and the case remains under investigation by state troopers.
A Dangerous Stretch of Road Near US 441
The crash site sits at a jurisdictional seam on SR 414, a 15.8-mile corridor split between two agencies. The Central Florida Expressway Authority operates the 9.4-mile John Land Apopka Expressway toll section to the west, while the Florida Department of Transportation manages the Maitland Boulevard section to the east, according to the Central Florida Expressway Authority. CFX is also currently designing a 3.7-mile elevated toll extension between US 441 and I-4, part of an ongoing effort to reshape the corridor’s interchange geometry near where Saturday’s crash occurred…