The Polk County Sheriff’s Office investigated a two-vehicle crash in north Lakeland on Saturday, February 12, 2022, that resulted in the death of a passenger. Preliminary information is as follows:
Around 7:20 p.m. that evening, the PCSO ECC received 911 calls from the area of Sleepy Hill Road at the intersection with Galloway Road. According to the evidence and witnesses, a 2014 gold GMC Sierra pick-up truck was heading westbound on Sleepy Hill Road at the same time as a 2020 black Cadillac Escalade that was heading southbound on Galloway Road. The driver of the truck, 29-year-old Sondra Franceschi of Lakeland, admitted to deputies that she failed to stop at her stop sign and entered into the path of the Escalade, being driven by 39-year-old Kenia Ramirez of Lakeland. Her truck struck the Escalade on the driver’s door, and both vehicles spun. The Escalade also rolled over and came to a rest in a residential backyard.
One of the passengers in the Escalade, 70-year-old Isabel Morales of Lakeland, was critically injured and transported to a local hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
Neither of the drivers nor any of the other passengers were injured. The roadways in the area were closed for approximately four hours during the investigation, which is ongoing. Charges are pending the final outcome of the investigation.
