Lakeland Woman, 23, Killed In Deeson Road Crash

LAKELAND, FL — The Polk County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a Monday night crash on Deeson Road that left a 23-year-old Lakeland woman dead and a 16-year-old girl injured.

According to the agency, Haley Carnley, 16, of Lakeland was driving a Ford F-250 pickup east on Deeson Road around 9:15 p.m. March 27. In the area of Christine Road, Carnley told deputies, a truck in front of hers began braking. Hoping to avoid a collision, Carnley attempted to steer around the other truck, an email from the sheriff’s office said.

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Carnley’s F-250 left the road hit a drainage culvert on the north side of Deeson and flipped over “end over end” one time. The truck hit a chain-link fence as it flipped, the email noted, before coming to a stop back on its wheels.

Deputies say Carnley suffered minor injuries. Her passenger, Rachel Nicole Tew of Lakeland was killed in the crash.

“Neither occupant appears to have been seat belted,” the agency noted. Impairment does not appear to be a factor, the sheriff’s office said.

As the investigation continues, deputies are trying to locate the driver of the other truck that was in front of Carnley’s. The vehicle is described as being an early 2000’s silver pickup. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 863-298-6200.

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