A 17-year-old driver was killed when the vehicle she was driving left the roadway early Sunday morning and struck a tree in Sumter County.
Jakeila Young of Leesburg had been at the wheel of a 2013 Hyundai Sonata at 1:22 a.m that was traveling south on County Road 221, south of County Road 232, according to an accident report from the Florida Highway Patrol. The vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree.
Young was pronounced dead at the scene.
Two passengers suffered serious injuries, 15-year-old Jhamoni Halback of Leesburg and 15-year-old Makayla James of Inverness. Halback was transported to Ocala Regional Medical Center and James was taken to Shands Hospital in Gainesville. A one-year-old child, Denzel Smith of Wildwood, suffered minor injuries and was transported to Shands Hospital in Gainesville.
Young had not been wearing a seatbelt, the report noted.
