SUMTER COUNTY, Fla. – A crash on State Road 471 in Sumter County early Friday killed a Lakeland woman and left four other people hurt, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred around 1:20 a.m., south of County Road 788, as a 24-year-old California woman drove a Mercedes-Benz SUV south on S.R. 471 and a 26-year-old Lakeland man drove a Nissan Titan north, the latter vehicle towing an enclosed utility trailer, troopers said.

According to a preliminary FHP crash report, the Mercedes-Benz was traveling south in the northbound lane for an unknown reason and collided nearly head-on with the Nissan.

A 52-year-old Lakeland woman riding as a passenger in the Mercedes-Benz was pronounced dead at the scene while the SUV’s driver and another passenger in the vehicle — a 54-year-

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