By Frank Stanfield
Deadly Crash on CR 33 Highlights Long-Standing Safety Concerns
County Road 33, a dangerous, crowded two-lane road, combined with a new teen driver, created an unimaginable tragedy when two teenagers died in a collision with another car on Nov. 15.
The accident has sparked a painful search for answers and revealed a sobering surprise: There have been 45 accidents with injuries on the highway which serves Clermont and Groveland, including one crash at the same intersection of Groveland Farms Road, according to Lake County Sheriff’s dispatch records.
“It’s a dangerous road,” says Rick Holley, who lives on CR 33.
Deadly crash on Tue, December 17, 2024
“People are driving 80 mph. It’s especially bad in the mornings,” he notes, and worries about school buses that make their way down the road.
Oftentimes there is fog in the low-lying areas, people pulling out onto the highway from private driveways. “And when you get to County Road 48 you come to a dead stop.”
Holley has lived in the area for decades, but new developments have changed pastures and woods to rooftops.
The Florida Highway Patrol report on the fatal crash says the 16-year-old female driver with her 17-year-old passenger was driving south on CR 33 approaching Groveland Farms Road when she tried to pass another car in a no-passing zone. When she saw an SUV heading in her direction she swerved back, lost control and collided with the SUV, causing the car to overturn.
The 75-year-old SUV driver and two of his passengers received minor injuries but a 6-year-old boy suffered serious injuries.
FHP is still investigating.
Everyone was wearing seat belts, but it was dark. The accident occurred at 6:05 p.m., and sunset was somewhere between 5:32 and 5:39 p.m.
Inexperienced drivers can cause serious problems. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration states that 2,611 teen drivers died in 2023, so it provides some useful tips for the parents of young drivers.
Its website Teen Safe Driving: How Teens Can Be Safer Drivers | NHTSA notes, “they speed, they make mistakes, and they get distracted easily, especially if their friends are in the car.”
It urges parents to “restrict night driving and passengers, prohibit driving while using the phone or other electronic devices, and require seat belts at all times.”
Other tips include:
- Insist that there be no alcohol or drug use.
- Don’t rely on driver’s education classes alone.
- Be a good role model. “You have more influence on your teen than you think.”
Frank Stanfield has been a journalist for more than 40 years, including as an editor and reporter for the Daily Commercial, Orlando Sentinel and Ocala Star-Banner. He has written three books, “Unbroken: The Dorothy Lewis Story,” “Vampires, Gators and Wackos, A Florida Newspaperman’s Story,” and “Cold Blooded, A True Crime Story of a Murderous Teenage Cult.” He has appeared on numerous national and international broadcasts, including Discovery ID, Oxygen and Court TV. He maintains a blog at frankestanfield.com. Stanfield graduated with a political science degree from the University of North Florida and a master’s in journalism at the University of Georgia.
