Fatal accident leads to closure of State Road 44 in Lake County

LAKE COUNTY, Florida. – According to the Florida Highway Patrol, State Road 44 near Pine Lakes was closed Friday morning due to a fatal accident.

The three-vehicle crash occurred around 7:15 a.m. on SR 44 at Misty Lane, troopers said. It involved a 2018 Kenworth T880 dump truck, a 2021 Dodge Ram 1500 and a 2024 Toyota Camry.

According to a preliminary accident report from FHP, the driver of the Dodge Ram was pronounced dead at the scene. Police are still working to identify the Dodge driver, the report said.

Both directions of SR 44 were closed at Misty Lane, troopers said. Traffic was diverted via County Road 437 and County Road 42, according to FHP.

The accident remains under investigation. No further details have been released or confirmed at the time of this report.

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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