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Two SUVs collide in Pasco intersection, injuring eight people

 
Eight people were injured Thursday evening in a serious traffic crash in west Pasco County, Fire Rescue officials said. No character style: Three of those injured are listed as trauma alert patients, one a pediatric patient who will be airlifted to a nearby hospital. [Pasco County Fire Rescue | Corey Dierdorff]
Eight people were injured Thursday evening in a serious traffic crash in west Pasco County, Fire Rescue officials said. No character style: Three of those injured are listed as trauma alert patients, one a pediatric patient who will be airlifted to a nearby hospital. [Pasco County Fire Rescue | Corey Dierdorff]
Published Nov. 16, 2018

HUDSON — Eight people were injured when two SUVs collided on Thursday night, resulting in two adults and a child being flown to local hospitals. A day later, they were all reported to be in stable condition, state troopers said Friday.

The crash took place at about 6:20 p.m. The Florida Highway Patrol gave this account:

Michael Mosley, 68, of Spring Hill was driving a Chevy Suburban east on State Road 52.

Headed west on the same road was a Dodge Durango driven by Jazzmin Nelson, 19, of Spring Hill.

Both SUVs had passengers, but troopers did not identify them or say how many rode in either vehicle.

At the intersection with Hays Road, troopers said, Mosely turned left into the path of Nelson. Their two SUVs collided nearly head on, troopers said, and both vehicles spun out.

The child, a 5-year-old, was in Nelson's SUV. The child was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa for medical treatment. Mosely was cited by troopers for making an improper turn.

"Crews went to the scene thinking it was just your normal two-vehicle collision," Dierdorff said. "But once they got to the intersection they saw all these people around and kept finding more and more patients.

"FHP is still investigating what exactly happened, but there were a lot of people in those cars. We're not sure who was restrained and who wasn't, but when you see that many people you're lead to believe there were unrestrained passengers, so this is definitely a good reminder to make sure you are always, always wearing a seat belt."

Westbound traffic was blocked for about two hours as firefighters worked the crash scene, which was classified as a "Level 1 mass-casualty incident," Dierdorff said.

That was an indication of the number of first-responders sent to treated the injured. Every injured person is considered a "casualty," and as the number of patients increase so do the number of medics and other assets sent to the scene, Dierdorff said.

Contact Anastasia Dawson at adawson@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3377. Follow @adawsonwrites.