Accident On Hwy 27 Results In One Fatality and One Critical Injury

Lake Wales, Florida – Just before 6:00 a.m. this morning, Tuesday, January 24th, PCSO received an alarm call in reference to glass breaking at the business Payes Trailer Sales, located at 14410 US Hwy 27 in Lake Wales, which is just north of Warner Southern College.

When deputies arrived on scene, they saw that a car and a semi-truck had crashed into the business’ main office building.

Preliminary information is as follows: A 4-door Toyota Corolla traveling east on Jackson Street entered the southbound lane of US 27 in an attempt to continue forward to the median and then turn north onto US 27. When it entered the southbound lane, it entered into the path of a semi-truck hauling sand which was heading southbound in the outside lane on US 27.

As the two vehicles collided, the semi-truck pushed the Toyota all the way into the aforementioned business. Nobody was in the business at the time.

The adult male driver of the Toyota has been declared deceased on scene. The adult male passenger of the Toyota was transported to LRMC with critical injuries. The adult male driver of the semi-truck was transported to Lake Wales Medical Center with non-serious injuries.