Teen driver, passenger killed in collision

The driver of a Honda Accord was trying to pass another vehicle when the car blew a tire and went out of control.

By HELEN ANNE TRAVIS, Times Staff Writer
Published November 28, 2007

Emergency workers respond to a double fatal crash Tuesday afternoon on Handcart Road just south of Prospect Road. The teens killed were both from Land O'Lakes.
	[Zach Boyden-Holmes | Times]

DADE CITY - Two teenagers were killed and another woman suffered minor injuries in a two-car accident on Handcart Road Tuesday afternoon, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

Troopers said the right rear tire of a southbound 1996 Honda Accord blew out as the Honda, driven by an 18-year-old male, tried to pass another vehicle. The Honda lost control before it could return to its lane and collided with a northbound 2003 Kia Sedona.

The Honda's driver and his 16-year-old female passenger died at the scene. The Florida Highway Patrol had not released their names Tuesday evening, but did say both were from Land O'Lakes.

The Kia's driver, Connie Johns, 42, was airlifted with non-life-threatening injuries to a Tampa hospital, troopers said.

Sharon Carey, 50, said the Honda tried to pass her Buick Park Avenue when its tire separated. Rubber pelted her car, she said, as she watched the two vehicles collide. She thought there was not enough space for the Honda to pass, even if its tire remained intact.

"In my opinion, the Honda shouldn't have passed," she said. The Kia was only "two telephone pole lengths" away.

Handcart Road remained closed to traffic for several hours Tuesday as troopers investigated the accident.

Helen Anne Travis can be reached at (352) 521-6518 or htravis@sptimes.com.

[Last modified November 27, 2007, 22:34:25]