Woman airlifted after head-on collision

SEBRING -- A woman was airlifted to Tampa Saturday morning after a head-on collision on Memorial Drive. The crash occurred at the intersection of Memorial Drive and Sunset Drive just before 11 a.m.. The two vehicles involved, a Saturn and a Rent-A-Center van, were headed in opposite directions on Memorial. "The van was headed northbound on Sunset and she was headed southbound," Highlands County Sheriff's Office Sgt. Barry Jones said. The West Sebring Volunteer Fire Department, several deputies, along with several on-lookers were on the scene. None of the on-lookers witnessed the accident. "They hit head-on; it looks like she crossed over into the other lane," said Florida Highway Patrol Trooper John Paikai. Jones echoed Paikai's observations, agreeing that the female driver of the Saturn had crossed into the northbound lane, though there was no concrete answer why she had. "He (driver of the van) is OK I think, just a scratch on the head and ear," Paikai said, but the driver of the Saturn wasn't so lucky. "She's being transported to Tampa for head trauma." The driver of the van was treated on site and was not transported to the hospital. The unidentified female driver was pulled from her vehicle by a handful of Highlands County EMT's and volunteer firefighters. The woman repeatedly told Paikai that she had been wearing her seatbelt, however Paikai and Jones are not completely sure the driver had been strapped in. "You can tell when a seatbelt was worn. There are indentations across the chest and the lap and I didn't see any," Jones said. Traffic along Memorial came to a short standstill as the accident site was cleaned up and the drivers were treated and transported. The accident is under investigation. for more information please visit: http://www.newssun.com/040311-sg-Memorial-Crash