More about that crazy Lake County crash: Driver is OK; building owner is in good humor

Frank Stanfield
·2 min read
The good folks at Northgate Animal Clinic in Fruitland Park have kept their sense of humor.
The good folks at Northgate Animal Clinic in Fruitland Park have kept their sense of humor.

FRUITLAND PARK — There is a new message on the sign in front of Northgate Animal Clinic: “Accepting New Patients Just Not Jaguars.”

The sign, of course, is a humorous reference to the spectacular crash of a speeding Jaguar that struck a Cadillac Escalade on Aug. 8, resulting in an explosion of car parts and the Jaguar ending up against the side of the clinic on U.S. 441/27.

The good news, besides the clinic still operating (and accepting new patients), is that the 18-year-old driver of the Jag and the couple in the Cadillac are all OK, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

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The young man was airlifted to an Ocala hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries. He has since been discharged from the hospital. The 59-year-old man and 75-year-old woman in the other car were not injured.

The 2016 Jaguar was traveling south on the highway north of Martin Luther King Boulevard at a high rate of speed. It struck the Escalade as that driver was trying to make a left turn on a yellow flashing light to travel west on the boulevard by Walmart.

A Jaguar estimated to be traveling more than 100 mph slammed into a Cadillac Escalade at Martin Luther King Drive and U.S. 441/27 on Aug. 8, causing an explosion of car parts and the speeding car to flip onto the side of a building several feet away. The teenage driver was airlifted following the crash.
A Jaguar estimated to be traveling more than 100 mph slammed into a Cadillac Escalade at Martin Luther King Drive and U.S. 441/27 on Aug. 8, causing an explosion of car parts and the speeding car to flip onto the side of a building several feet away. The teenage driver was airlifted following the crash.

The Jaguar spun counterclockwise, struck a traffic sign and a utility pole. It then went into a ditch, flew up into the air and struck the animal clinic. One tire flew off and hit an unoccupied 2022 Chevy Silverado in a parking lot. Another tire embedded itself into the side of the clinic.

Ken Hutcheson, whose business, Champion rentals, is on the busy corner, estimates the Jaguar speed at more than 100 mph.

Hutcheson, who pulled the youth out of the car, said he kept saying, “My papa’s car!”

The 18-year-old from Fruitland Park was cited for speeding.

FHP does not release the names of crash victims in press releases.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: Florida man OK after crash that left Jaguar leaning against building