Driver dead, 1 injured after high-speed crash launches car into traffic light
A 23-year-old died Saturday afternoon after what appeared to be a high-speed collision sent his blue Dodge Challenger flying into a traffic light and crashing hard on Ives Dairy Road, leaving the vehicle nearly flattened and shedding parts.
Robert Joshua Gonzalez, 23, was declared dead on the scene. The Challenger’s air bag deployed. Gonzalez was not wearing a seat belt.
The crash also injured Juan Castillo, 59, the driver of a Ford F-150 pickup. His condition after the crash, according to Sunday’s update, was “incapacitating.”
Castillo had been heading west on Ives Dairy, then set up to turn left onto Northeast 10th Avenue. Gonzalez was heading east on Ives Dairy. Castillo’s truck hit the left side of the Challenger, according to Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Nicolas Delfino.
The impact caused the Dodge to hit a light pole and then a fence surrounding the nearby homes, Delfino said.
Car parts were scattered on the road. Some flew over the fence separating the road from the California Club Homes community. As rescuers worked on the vehicle, family members waited on the side of the road with tears in their eyes.
“It’s a very sad scene and a lot of damage,” Delfino said.
This story was originally published February 9, 2019 at 6:14 PM.
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