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Polk Teen Dies After Car Hits Power Pole
Photo from POLK COUNTY SHERIFF’S OFFICE
Candra Michelle Rittenhouse, 17, and Sara Kay Smith, 16, were thrown from their 1991 Nissan Pathfinder when it left Winter Lake Road between King and Crystal Beach roads.
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Published: February 8, 2009
Updated: 02/08/2009 10:44 pm
The stepdaughter of a Winter Haven police officer died Sunday morning and the daughter of a Polk County firefighter was seriously injured when their vehicle hit a power pole and rolled over in Winter Haven.
Candra Michelle Rittenhouse, 17, of Winter Haven was taken to Tampa General Hospital in critical condition and later died, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
She was the stepdaughter of Winter Haven Police Lt. Joey Yeako.
She and Sara Kay Smith, 16, of Winter Haven were thrown from the 1991 Nissan Pathfinder they were in when it left Winter Lake Road between King and Crystal Beach roads, hit the power pole and landed on its roof.
She is the daughter of Polk County firefighter Elvis Triado, the sheriff's office said.
She was pulled away from the vehicle just before it was engulfed in flames and told deputies another girl had also been in the Nissan. She was flown to Tampa General in serious condition.
Reserve deputies came across the wreck about 2:25 a.m. Sunday.
A K-9 unit from the Winter Haven Police Department found Rittenhouse about 50 yards from the vehicle.
Deputies do not know which girl was driving or why the vehicle left the road, which was closed for five hours during the investigation.
Sunday's crash is similar to a Dec. 29 crash that took the lives of Aldeir Mayorga and Troy Christopher Cockrum, both 17 and students at Lake Region High School.
Mayorga lost control of the 2001 Nissan Altima the boys were in on State Road 540 at King Road about 10:20 p.m., the Florida Highway Patrol said. The Altima rotated clockwise, traveled onto the south shoulder, struck a raised curb and hit a utility pole.
The Altima split in two from the impact, according to the highway patrol. Neither Mayorga nor Cockrum was wearing a seat belt.
The boys, who were best friends, died at the scene.
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