A 17-year-old passenger died Thursday night after the pickup truck he was riding in crashed into a tree in the JW Corbett Wildlife Management area in Palm Beach County.
The fatal crash occurred at 10:52 p.m. on November 27 on Stumpers Grade Road north of 94th Street North Canal, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office Traffic Division.
The Lake Worth teen was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:19 p.m. by Palm Beach County Fire Rescue personnel.
The driver, 19-year-old James Robert Rankin Jr. of Lake Worth, was traveling eastbound in a 2004 Chevrolet Silverado when he began negotiating a curve on Stumpers Grade Road. After completing the curve, the vehicle began to drift off the left side of the roadway.
As Rankin attempted to regain control, the truck began sliding toward the right edge of the road while rotating counterclockwise. The vehicle exited the right side of the roadway and struck a tree with its front passenger side before coming to rest against the tree.
Three other passengers were also injured in the crash. Daniel Pena, 21, of West Palm Beach, and Owen Havens, 19, of Lake Worth, were transported to St. Mary's Medical Center with critical injuries. Vito DeAngelo, 21, of Lake Worth, was transported to the same hospital with serious injuries.
According to the crash report, the deceased passenger was the only person in the vehicle wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
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