ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A driver was killed and another was seriously injured in a wrong-way crash Thursday morning on State Road 429 in Orange County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred around 3:09 a.m. as a sedan was being driven northbound in the outside southbound lane of S.R. 429, north of mile marker 36 (Orange Blossom Trail), troopers said.
According to an FHP crash report, the sedan was in the direct path of an SUV traveling south in the outside southbound lane of S.R. 429. The SUV’s driver — identified as a 29-year-old Mount Dora woman — attempted to swerve left to avoid the sedan, but the front right of the wrong-way car struck the front right of the SUV, the report states.
The 44-year-old Ocoee woman driving the sedan was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead, troopers said, adding she was not wearing a seat belt. The Mount Dora woman, who troopers believe was wearing a seat belt in the crash, suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries and was also hospitalized, according to FHP.
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All southbound lanes of S.R. 429 were closed in the area. The roadblock was cleared by 9 a.m.
The FHP said it’s believed the Ocoee woman got onto the highway at Orange Blossom Trail or the interchange at State Road 414.
Crash investigators will need to calculate the time and distance to know for certain what happened. They believe she was not driving in the wrong direction for long because the crash happened minutes after someone spotted the woman heading the wrong way and called 911.
Both areas on S.R. 429 do not have a wrong-way detection system. News 6 has done extensive reporting on the technology that alerts authorities as soon as a driver gets on the highway heading the wrong way.
“It does send a picture of the vehicle traveling the wrong way, which does provide us a description of that vehicle and a tag number so they can notify law enforcement and dispatch them to the area,” said Lt. Tara Crescenzi with FHP. “It’s just unfortunate that sometimes the system picks up on the ramp and then a mile later the crash happens.”
A spokesperson for the Central Florida Expressway Authority said the wrong-way driving detection system was a pilot project when the 429 was designed. They do have plans to add the technology to that area sometime next year.
FDOT is also adding systems to more ramps across Florida. It has installed 19 along Interstate 4 in Central Florida since 2019 and it has plans to put them on more ramps, on Interstate 95 and other roads statewide.
FDOT says the technology is one tool to prevent these crashes from happening. It also installs signs and pavement markings that are required:
- Wrong-Way Signs and Pavement Markings: Section 230.4 of the Florida Design Manual (FDM)
- Signing and Pavement Marking Standards at Ramp Intersections: Roadway Design Bulletin 15-08 / Traffic Operations Bulletin 03-15.
- Wrong-Way Driving Advanced Countermeasures at Interchange Exit Ramps: Traffic Engineering and Operations Bulletin 19-03.
- Wrong-Way Driving Countermeasures for Arterials and Collectors: Traffic Engineering and Operations Bulletin 21-03
Crescenzi said most wrong-way crashes happen at night when people could be distracted, drowsy or impaired.
“It’s extremely dangerous, so if you see a wrong-way driver, notify law enforcement immediately, reduce your speed, try to pull over and out of the way,” Crescenzi said.