PCSO: 17-year-old driver dies after truck crashes into tree near Winter Haven

A 17-year-old driver died Wednesday afternoon in a one-vehicle crash southwest of Winter Haven.

The crash was reported at 3:06 pm, and units from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Polk County Fire Rescue responded to the scene on Spirit Lake Road, just south of the Oakwood Estates community at Rolling Oaks Drive, PCSO reported.

First responders found two juveniles entrapped inside a white 1994 Chevrolet pickup truck, PCSO said. The driver, Terry Lee Hines III, 17, of Winter Haven, died at the scene.

The passenger, a 15-year old girl from Deltona, incurred head trauma, a brain bleed, facial fractures, lung damage and various broken bones, PCSO reported. She was transported to a Tampa hospital in critical but stable condition.

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Based on evidence from the scene, detectives determined that the truck had been driving south on Spirit Lake Road. As the truck entered a curve in the road, the driver lost control of the vehicle and the truck left the west side of the road and struck an oak tree, PCSO said.

Further analysis is required to determine whether the seat belts were used, PCSO said. Detectives said that a wet road surface because of rain could have been a factor in the crash, but the investigation remains ongoing.