Three killed in Pasco golf cart crash

Three people were killed in a crash between a vehicle and a golf cart Saturday in Pasco County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

According to troopers, a golf cart carrying four people collided with an SUV at 2:30 a.m.

The incident happened at the intersection of Monteverde Drive and Saguaro Lane, troopers said.

Troopers say Victor Valdez Jr. , 32, of Spring Hill, struck the back of the golf cart with his Jeep.

The golf cart overturned and all four people were ejected. Jennifer Boudreau, 36, and Leah Kurasz, 28, both of Spring Hill, died at the scene. A third person also died at the scene but has not been identified.

“I see this and hear it all the time, but to experience it myself, it hurts,” Gene Boudreau, Jennifer Boudreau’s father, said.

Family members say the golf cart had front headlights, but no tail lights. They said they told the friends to put lights on the back of the golf cart a few weeks ago.

“They did not do that,” Boudreau’s uncle, Dan DeSplinter, said. “But let’s think for a minute, if they had went down to the store and put a light on it immediately, we would have had about an 80 percent chance of this not happening.”

Neighbors heard the crash

“We were sitting inside the house and we heard an explosion, that’s what it sounded like,” neighbor Max Roush, who ran to help, said.

Roush said the street has no street lights, and is known for speeding.

“It’s a highway,” Roush said. “It literally is like 75. Cars are constantly flying down it, no problem.”

The driver of the golf cart, Scott Wilson, 23, of New Port Richey, was taken to Bayonet Point with critical injuries.

The roadway was dark and unmarked. Valdez Jr. was not injured in the crash, according to FHP.

Monteverde Drive was closed while troopers investigated the crash, but has since reopened.

This story was originally published December 24, 2016 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Three killed in Pasco golf cart crash."