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Devastating Crash Claims Life In Downtown Umatilla

    A Umatilla woman was killed in the predawn hours Monday morning, when the vehicle she was driving was struck while crossing SR 19 in downtown Umatilla.  The woman, 44, was pronounced deceased at the scene after the 2019 Jeep Cherokee she was driving was struck in the driver’s-side door at such force that it didn’t come to rest before traveling an estimated 150 feet from the impact site.
    The crash resulted in SR 19 through downtown Umatilla being closed for almost eight hours while an investigation was undertaken. 
    Florida Highway Patrol reports state that around 4:21 a.m. the woman was eastbound on Guerrant Street and went to cross the southbound lane of SR 19.  A 2018 Nissan Frontier, being driven by an unidentified man southbound, struck the Jeep as it crossed the left southbound lane. The truck was reported to have run through a red light at the intersection.
    Reports state the Nissan struck the Jeep with its front, impacting the driver side of that vehicle, driving the vehicle south, across the northbound lanes of SR 19, before it came to rest next to a power pole near the office of the Umatilla Chamber of Commerce. The truck came to rest around 75 feet south of the intersection in the median area of the highway.
    The driver of the truck was transported to HCA Lake Monroe Hospital with injuries reported as serious.
    The Florida Highway Patrol does not release names of those involved in vehicle crashes.
    Reports from the scene indicated the truck was attempting to flee Umatilla Police at the time of the crash, with officers having attempted to initiate a traffic stop on the truck due to it being reported stolen.  The driver fled the stop, and according to first responders at the scene was traveling at an estimated 80 miles per hour at the time of impact.
    Security cameras at nearby businesses captured video of the impact, which created a massive debris field of vehicle parts both in the intersection and following both vehicles to where they stopped.
    The FHP reported the crash remains under criminal investigation with charges pending.