Two of the victims are from Spring Hill, a third is from Homosassa.
By ABHI RAGHUNATHAN
Published September 1, 2005
SPRING HILL - Three North Suncoast residents died Wednesday afternoon when a car crossed the State Road 50 median in Hernando County and slammed into a oncoming PT Cruiser.
The driver of the Chrysler PT Cruiser was identified as Sandra Margotta, 52, of 13419 Tyringham St., Spring Hill, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The two occupants of the other vehicle, a 1994 Mitsubishi sedan, were not identified Wednesday evening, pending notification of next of kin.
The Mitsubishi driver was a 25-year-old man from Spring Hill; the passenger was an 18-year-old man from Homosassa.
All three victims died at the scene. The cause of the accident was still being investigated Wednesday evening.
The wreck, which occurred shortly after 4 p.m., closed the westbound lanes for about three hours and backed up traffic east past the Suncoast Parkway.
Jerry Pugh, 29, of Hudson was operating a loader at a patch of rubble along the four-lane highway when he saw the accident. The beige Mitsubishi heading east on SR 50 was going fast, "maybe 70 miles per hour," he said, when it cut across the median for about 100 yards and rammed into the PT Cruiser heading west.
The impact jolted the cars into the air, Pugh said. Debris flew and hit an oncoming car, according to Highway Patrol Sgt. Lee Frye. No one in that car was injured.
As rescue workers, sheriff's deputies, and the Highway Patrol raced to the scene, the westbound lanes of SR 50 were blocked off between Barclay Avenue and Sunshine Grove Road. The Mitsubishi's front was crushed all the way to the steering wheel. Tire tracks were imprinted on the grassy median.
When Capt. Jack Sanfilippo of Hernando County Fire Rescue arrived, he knew it was going to be bad.
"It was pretty severe," he said. "Whenever you have two vehicles hit each other like that, it's not a good thing."
Anyone with information about the accident was asked to call the Highway Patrol at 352-754-6767, ext. 103.
Staff writers Rick Gershman and Andrew Skerritt contributed to this report.
