Zephyrhills Crash Leaves 3 Dead, 2 Children Injured

ZEPHYRHILLS, FL – An attempt to pass slower traffic resulted in a head-on collision that left three adults dead and two children hospitalized with serious injuries.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the fatal crash occurred around 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 19, on County Road 54 west of Berry Road in Zephyrhills (see related story).

Elvin Michael Benitez, 30, of Zephyrhills was traveling west on CR 54 west of Chantel Drive in his 2015 Mazda6 with 11-year-old John Arel and 6-year-old Jasmine Benitez of Zephyrhills in the car with him.

Dennis George Wilkes, 38, of Lakeland was driving his 2005 Toyota Camry east on CR 54 when Benitez tried to pass traffic in front of him and entered the path of Wilkes' car.

The two cars collided head on. The Mazda rotated to the south shoulder of the road and collided with a wire fence.

Benitez, Wilkes and Wilkes' passenger, Chrisstina A. Farmer, 27, of Winter Haven died at the scene. The children were taken to the hospital with serious injuries.

Images via FHP

(For more local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app; download the free Patch Android app here.)