Summerfield man pronounced dead after two crashes on Hwy. 42 near The Villages

A 31-year-old Summerfield man was killed early Friday night in a bizarre high-speed crash just outside the walls of The Villages on SE Hwy. 42.

Abigail Ortega Morales was pronounced dead by Marion County Fire Rescue paramedics after his westbound 1998 Dodge Ram 1500 pickup slammed into a tree near the intersection of CR 42 and SE 83rd Avenue, not far from the Mulberry Grove Recreation Center, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

Morales’ pickup was involved in another crash minutes earlier when he was attempting to change lanes near 96th Terrace and struck the left rear of a 2006 Chevy TrailBlazer, driven by 52-year-old Derek Morris, of Summerfield. Morales sped away from that crash at a high rate of speed and was seen swerving all over the roadway, the FHP report says.

Seconds later, Morales’ vehicle slammed into the back of a 1999 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by 53-year-old John Farmer Jr., also of Summerfield. Morales’ pickup then ran across a grassy median and struck a tree before coming to rest in the median and the inside lane of westbound CR 42, the report says.
Neither Morris nor Farmer were injured in the crashes, which occurred around 7:40 pm. Farmer’s passenger, 54-year-old Brenda Farmer, received minor injuries, the report says.

Everyone involved in the crash was wearing seat belts. The incident remains under investigation and it hasn’t been determined if alcohol was a factor, the report says.