The Florida Highway Patrol is looking for a potential witness to a 2018 crash at a notoriously dangerous intersection in Wildwood that claimed the life of a motorcyclist.
The FHP on Wednesday released images of the potential witness to the crash that killed 26-year-old Zachary Swearingen, of Belleview, on Aug. 28, 2018 at U.S. 301 and County Road 472.
Anyone with information about the potential witness is asked to contact the FHP at (813) 558-1800.
Swearingen had been riding a 2017 Suzuki at 4:20 p.m. traveling north on U.S. 301 when a 2008 Nissan Altima driven by 16-year-old Ethan Timothy Diaz, of Fruitland Park, which had been westbound on County Road 472, entered into the path of the motorcycle.
The front of the motorcycle struck the left side of Diaz’s vehicle, according to the accident report. Swearingen, who had been wearing a helmet, was thrown from the motorcycle.
Diaz suffered serious injuries and was transported by ambulance to Ocala Regional Medical Center.
Swearingen had been employed by Pike’s Electric in Wildwood since 2016. He was a graduate of Forest High School in Ocala.
That intersection has long been a source of concern.
A motorcyclist suffered a broken leg in April 2016 in a collision there.
Several people were injured in a crash in October 2015 at that intersection.