HIGHLANDS COUNTY, Fla. — Ten people, including three children and six teenagers, were hurt after a fiery crash on Thursday in Highlands County.
It happened at 6 p.m. on Catfish Creek Road at Catfish Lane, just southeast of Lake June in Winter.
The Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) says that a 16-year-old boy from Jacksonville was driving a group of other teenagers, a 16-year-old girl, a 19-year-old man and an 18-year-old man, at the time of the crash. They were all inside of a pickup truck.
In the other car, a 49-year-old woman from Lake Placid was driving a 15-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy, an 11-year-old boy, a 7-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl.
A crash report says that the teenage driver tried to make a left turn from Catfish Creek Road onto Catfish Lane. In doing so, his truck collided with the woman's car, which was traveling in the opposite direction on Catfish Creek Road, according to FHP.
Troopers say that nobody in the woman's car was wearing a seatbelt and several passengers were ejected during the crash.
After the crash, the the teen's truck reportedly caught on fire.
Both drivers and all passengers suffered varying degrees of injury.
Everyone from the woman's car suffered serious injuries except for the 7-year-old girl, according to FHP. Her condition is said to be critical.
Everyone from the teen's truck also was hurt. The driver and two passengers suffered serious injuries, while the 18-year-old is said to have suffered minor injuries. It's "unknown" if the teens were wearing seatbelts in the cab of the truck, the crash report says.
Everyone who needed medical attention was rushed to nearby hospitals.
FHP says the crash remains under investigation.
