A 20-year-old woman was killed Christmas Eve, after losing control of an UTV. The crash took place on Myakka Valley Trail near Sheps Island Road in Myakka, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
Another crash victim, a 19-year-old boy, sustained minor injuries.
A former Myakka resident who lost his son to an offroad vehicle crash in 2004, spoke with ABC7 about the struggles of overcoming such a loss.
“I lived in Myakka for 37 years and moved out of there a couple years ago. But this is the third fatality that i know of,” said Merv Kennell, a former firefighter in Sarasota County.
Kennell said his heart sank when he heard about the accident, but wished to offer any advice and help for the family mourning the loss of their child—similar to what Kennel had to do nearly 20 years ago.
“This isn’t something you get over. You get through it day by day,” he said.
Between January 1 and the end of June, 2023, there had already been hundreds of offroad vehicle related deaths, and dozens of recalls for these vehicles.
North Port Police Department gave their condolences to the families involved and said it’s an issue in south county as well.
NPPD Public Information Officer Josh Taylor said in an interview, “I can think off the top of my head 6 or 7 incidents… where we’ve had fatalities.”
Florida Highway Patrol telling ABC7 this crash is still under investigation, and no new details since the weekend have been released.
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Source: mysuncoast
