FROSTPROOF, Fla — The Polk County Sheriff's Office is investigating two crashes that left two people dead Tuesday night, according to a news release.
The first crash happened at around 9 p.m. in Frostproof. According to authorities, a man driving a Porsche Targa north on U.S. Highway 27 came to a stop in a left turn lane to head west on U.S. 98. That's when the driver left the turn lane and proceeded to go straight and entered the path of a Chevy Tahoe driving north on U.S. 27.
The driver of the Tahoe attempted to avoid the Porsche, but was unable to, the sheriff's office said in a news release. The Tahoe hit the Porsche on the front passenger's side, killing 62-year-old Teresa Gonzalez of Hialeah.
At this time, impairment does not seem to be a factor in the collision. The roadway was closed for about four hours Tuesday night.
The second crash happened at around 11:30 p.m. in Babson Park. The sheriff's office said 53-year-old Patricia Robarts of Frostproof left her job and was traveling on Waverly Road. She stopped at the intersection of Waverly Road and Scenic Highway North and began turning left onto Scenic Highway, authorities say.
That's when they say Robarts hesitated and stopped in the westbound lane for unknown reasons. A 19-year-old driver in a Tahoe tried to brake and swerve to avoid Robarts' Kia Stinger but was unable to avoid the crash.
The driver of the Tahoe hit Robarts on the driver's side door and the Kia immediately caught fire, the sheriff's office said.
First responders arrived and extinguished the fire, but Robarts was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Tahoe was also taken to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries and was released.
Deputies don't believe the driver of the Tahoe was impaired at the time of the collision. The roadway was closed for about four hours as well.
The investigations into both crashes are ongoing.
