LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – Two children, ages 4 and 2, died and eight other people were hospitalized on Saturday following a two-vehicle crash on State Road 46, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The children were traveling with a 20-year-old male driver, a 21-year-old female passenger and a 1-year-old boy in a 2011 KIA when the car started passing traffic in a no passing zone, troopers said.
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As the KIA crossed a double yellow line and entered the lane, a pickup truck with a driver and four occupants traveled onto the south shoulder to take evasive action, troopers said.
The KIA also went to the same shoulder and struck the pickup truck head-on around 5:40 p.m., troopers said.
The truck overturned and caught fire, but the driver and four occupants were able to exit the vehicle and were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, troopers said.
The 4-year-old and 2-year-old in the KIA were pronounced dead on the scene, troopers said.
The 20-year-old driver and the 21-year-old passenger in the KIA were transported to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while the 1-year-old boy was airlifted to Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children in serious, but stable condition, troopers said.
The crash remains under investigation and charges are pending, troopers said.