A driver, going in the wrong direction on Highway 60 in Lake Wales, was killed in a head-on crash after his Ford F-150 erupted in flames on Saturday night.
Polk County Sheriff’s deputies said, 26-year-old Phillip Craig Durden, of Auburndale, was traveling east on Highway 60 in the west bound lanes just before 10:30 pm, on Saturday. Durden was driving a 2002, Ford F-150 pulling a trailer, when he collided head on with a tractor-trailer, traveling west on Highway 60, in the westbound lanes.
41-year-old Jay Michael Batson, of Tindel Camp Road, in Lakes was driving the semi tractor-trailer, which was filled with citrus molasses.
The two trucks hit head- on just west of Capps road. Deputies said, the semi crossed the median and blocked the east bound lanes. The F-150 sustained significant damage and burst into flames.
Durden was pronounced dead at the scene.
Batson, who was wearing a seat-belt, was transported to Lake Wales Medical Center, where he was treated and released.
Highway 60 was closed for most of Saturday night.
The crash remains under investigation.
