LEESBURG – Leesburg Police responded to an accident near Skinner Avenue on US Hwy 441 Thursday morning at approximately 7:47 am according to a release by Lt. Joe Iozzi of the Leesburg Police Department.
According to Iozzi, the investigation of the incident showed that a 17-year-old female driver was traveling southbound on US 441 in the inside lane driving a 2003 Chevrolet Pickup truck when she collided with a motorcycle which was stopped for a school bus boarding children.
The driver of the motorcycle, 27-year-old William Ward suffered severe injuries at the scene and was transported to Leesburg Regional Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.
According to witnesses, there was “blood all over the place”. Traffic was backed up on US 441’s southbound lanes for several hours as emergency crews worked to clean up the scene.
Treadway Elementary school announced by automated phone messages that they would have extra counselors on staff to help the students who were on the bus cope with what they witnessed.
“This case remains under investigation by the Leesburg Police Department/Traffic Unit and, although preliminary results indicate the truck being ‘at fault’ in the crash, applicable charges are pending the outcome of the full investigation,” Lt. Joe Iozzi wrote in an email to Central Florida Wire.
Leesburg Police are asking anyone who may have any information regarding the crash to contact the Leesburg Police Department’s Traffic Unit at (352)728-9860
