LAKE WALES, Fla. — Deputies say that a 36-year-old man was killed on New Year's morning, Jan. 1, in Lake Wales during a crash that caused him to be thrown away from the ATV he was driving.
Law enforcement arrived at around 3:20 a.m. on Lake Kotsa Drive where they found the body of Christopher Mears, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said in a news release.
Mears was reportedly driving an ATV in the area with his friends when he traveled southbound on Lake Kotsa Drive and was driving too fast on a right-hand curve. His ATV then landed in a drainage ditch and the 36-year-old was thrown off the ATV, deputies say.
Mears landed in the shallow water of the ditch and appeared to drown there, authorities said.
"Deputies found an empty beer can at the scene, and there was a strong smell of alcohol on Mr. Mears," the sheriff's office stated in the news release.
Deputies say speeding and drunk driving appeared to be the reasons for the crash.
The road where the incident occurred was closed for three hours after first responders arrived. The investigation of the crash remains ongoing.