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Fatal Multi-Vehicle Crash on SR 60 in Polk County Kills 4 Near Lake Wales:
Published: February 5, 2026 | By: Kaiser Romanello Accident & Injury Attorneys
A devastating chain-reaction pileup on State Road 60 at Capps Road has left four dead and seven hospitalized. For the victims’ families, the window to protect critical evidence and pursue accountability under Florida law is already narrowing.
What Happened: Deadly SR 60 Car Accident Near Lake Wales
On the afternoon of February 4, 2026, a catastrophic multi-vehicle collision on State Road 60 East near Capps Road in Polk County killed four people and sent seven others to the hospital. According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, the crash occurred just after 4:00 p.m. during heavy traffic conditions, involving five vehicles and a total of eleven individuals.
During a preliminary press conference, Sheriff Judd stated that “for reasons unknown at this early stage of the investigation,” one vehicle crossed over the median into the path of oncoming eastbound traffic, triggering the chain-reaction collision. All four fatalities were occupants of the same vehicle.
Two of the injured were airlifted to local trauma centers. The remaining victims were transported by ground ambulance. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit responded to the scene, and SR 60 near Capps Road was shut down for several hours during the crash reconstruction.
The SR 60 corridor between Bartow and Lake Wales is one of Polk County’s most heavily trafficked two-lane divided highways, carrying a mix of commuter traffic, agricultural haulers, and commercial vehicles through largely rural stretches with limited median barriers. Residents and safety advocates have long raised concerns about the danger of cross-median crashes on this corridor, particularly near the intersections at Capps Road and Rifle Range Road east of Lake Wales.
The Legal Perspective: Why This SR 60 Car Accident Investigation Demands Immediate Action
Our hearts go out to every family affected by this tragedy. No legal analysis can ease the grief of losing someone you love. But as wrongful death attorneys who handle catastrophic accident cases across Polk County and all of Central Florida, we know that the decisions families make in the coming days and weeks will determine whether justice is ever served.
1. Complex Liability and Vicarious Liability in Florida Multi-Vehicle Crashes
When five vehicles collide in a chain reaction, assigning fault is anything but simple. Every insurance company involved will attempt to shift blame away from its own insured—and onto the victims.
Early reports indicate that a vehicle crossed the median into oncoming traffic. The SR 60 car accident investigation must determine why that vehicle left its lane. Was the driver distracted or impaired? Did a mechanical defect—such as a tire blowout or steering failure—cause a loss of control? Was the median barrier inadequate for the speed and traffic volume on this stretch of highway?
Each answer opens a different pathway to liability—and potentially a different defendant. Under the legal doctrine of vicarious liability in Florida crashes, an employer can be held responsible for an employee’s negligent driving within the scope of employment. If the at-fault driver was on the clock, their employer’s commercial insurance policy—often with far higher limits—may be in play.
Florida law also allows claims against vehicle manufacturers for defective components, against government entities for dangerous road design or inadequate signage, and against maintenance providers who failed to keep a vehicle roadworthy.
The critical takeaway: multi-vehicle crashes require an independent investigation by experienced attorneys, not reliance on a single police report or insurance adjuster’s summary.
2. Wrongful Death Rights for Families of the SR 60 Victims
With four people killed in this crash, Florida’s Wrongful Death Act (§ 768.16–26) gives surviving family members the right to pursue a civil action. The personal representative of the deceased’s estate files the claim on behalf of eligible survivors, including spouses, children, parents, and dependents.
Recoverable damages in a Florida wrongful death claim may include: loss of the financial support and services the deceased would have provided; loss of companionship, guidance, and parental instruction; mental pain and suffering of surviving family members; medical and funeral expenses; and the lost earnings and benefits the deceased would have accumulated over their lifetime.
These are not abstract legal concepts. They represent the real financial devastation a family faces when a wage-earner, a parent, or a partner is suddenly gone. A qualified wrongful death attorney in Polk County can evaluate the full scope of these damages and ensure no category of loss is left on the table.
3. Florida’s Two-Year Deadline and the New Comparative Negligence Trap (HB 837)
This may be the most important section of this article for anyone affected by the SR 60 crash.
Under Florida’s sweeping tort reform legislation—House Bill 837, signed into law on March 24, 2023—the statute of limitations for negligence-based personal injury claims was cut from four years to just two years from the date of the accident. Florida’s wrongful death statute of limitations was already two years from the date of death and remains unchanged. Either way, the result is the same: families have a maximum of two years to file suit.
⚠ CRITICAL DEADLINE For both surviving crash victims and wrongful death claimants, the deadline to file a lawsuit is two years from February 4, 2026. Miss that date, and the courthouse doors close permanently—no matter how strong the case. |
But HB 837 did far more than shorten the clock. It also changed Florida from a “pure” comparative negligence state to a “modified” comparative negligence state. Under the old system, a plaintiff could recover damages reduced by their percentage of fault—even if they were 99% at fault. Under the new modified standard, if a plaintiff is found more than 50% at fault, they recover nothing.
Why this matters in a multi-vehicle pileup: Insurance companies will aggressively argue that your loved one—or you, if you survived—shares the majority of blame for the collision. In a five-car chain reaction on SR 60, defense attorneys have four other vehicles’ worth of potential blame to redirect.
This makes two things absolutely essential from the earliest moments of the case:
First, the initial police report and Lake Wales accident report must be obtained and scrutinized immediately. These reports often contain errors, incomplete witness statements, or preliminary fault determinations that insurance companies will treat as gospel. Your attorney must identify inaccuracies before they harden into the accepted narrative.
Second, independent accident reconstruction must begin before physical evidence is lost. Gouge marks, debris fields, fluid trails, and final rest positions tell a physics-based story of how the crash unfolded. Once the road reopens and traffic resumes, that physical evidence begins to degrade—or disappear entirely.
The Role of the Polk County Sheriff’s Homicide Unit—and Why You Still Need Your Own Investigator
When the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Homicide Unit responds to a fatal crash, their role is to conduct a criminal investigation. They determine whether any driver committed a crime—such as DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, or reckless driving—that warrants criminal charges.
A criminal investigation is not a civil investigation. The homicide unit’s conclusions may or may not align with the evidence needed to prove civil liability. Detectives are not looking for the negligent maintenance record of a commercial vehicle, the hours-of-service violations of a truck driver, or the defective design of a median barrier. That work falls to the victim’s own legal team.
More importantly, critical electronic evidence can disappear while waiting for a criminal investigation to conclude:
Event Data Recorders (EDRs), commonly called “black boxes,” are installed in nearly every modern passenger vehicle and all commercial trucks. They capture pre-crash data including speed, braking force, throttle position, steering angle, seatbelt status, and airbag deployment timing. In many vehicles, this data is overwritten after a set number of ignition cycles.
A spoliation letter or emergency court order sent within days of the crash can legally compel every party—including vehicle owners, repair shops, towing companies, and commercial carriers—to preserve this data. Without early legal intervention, the most objective evidence of what happened may be permanently lost.
5. Were Commercial Vehicles or Trucks Involved? The FMCSA Factor
As of this writing, investigators have not confirmed the types of all vehicles involved. However, State Road 60 through Polk County is a known corridor for heavy commercial truck traffic, including citrus haulers, phosphate transport vehicles, and long-haul freight carriers moving between Tampa and the interior of the state.
If any commercial motor vehicle was involved, federal law—the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations (FMCSRs)—imposes strict requirements on carriers and drivers: hours-of-service limits, mandatory vehicle inspections, driver qualification standards, drug and alcohol testing, cargo securement rules, and more.
Under vicarious liability and the “motor carrier” theory of liability, the responsible parties in a trucking crash may include not only the driver but also the motor carrier, the vehicle owner, the maintenance contractor, the freight broker who selected the carrier, and the shipper whose cargo was being transported.
Each of these entities may carry separate insurance policies. A thorough investigation into all available coverage is essential to ensuring that victims and families have access to the full compensation available under the law.
Evidence Disappears Fast. Legal Action Preserves It.
In crashes of this severity, evidence begins deteriorating from the moment the road reopens. Skid marks fade. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses along SR 60 is recorded over. Witness memories become less reliable with each passing day.
Cell phone records, GPS navigation data, dashcam footage, and electronic vehicle data can be destroyed—accidentally or deliberately—unless a legal hold is placed on them. In commercial vehicle cases, carriers have been known to “lose” driver logs and maintenance records when litigation is anticipated.
Engaging an attorney early is not about rushing into litigation. It is about ensuring that the evidence necessary to determine what truly happened on SR 60 near Capps Road—and who is truly responsible—is identified, preserved, and protected before it vanishes.
For more information on how we investigate Florida car and truck accidents, including our approach to accident reconstruction, EDR extraction, commercial vehicle liability, and multi-party claims: Link to My Florida Car and Truck Accident Page
Frequently Asked Questions: SR 60 Polk County Crash
The following questions address the most common concerns families face after a fatal multi-vehicle accident in Florida. This section is designed to provide immediate, actionable guidance.
How do I get a copy of the police report for a crash on SR 60?
you can request the crash report (also called a “long form” traffic crash report) directly from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office Records Division, or through the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) online portal. Reports from the Lake Wales area are typically available within 10 business days of the crash, but complex multi-vehicle investigations may take longer. Your attorney can also subpoena the fullinvestigative file, which includes photographs, witness statements, and supplemental reports that are not part of the standard crash report.
Who is liable if a vehicle crosses the median in Florida?
Liability depends on why the vehicle left its lane. If the driver was distracted, impaired, or drowsy, they bear primary fault. However, additional parties may share liability: avehicle manufacturer if a defect caused loss of control; a tire company if a blowout occurred; an employer under vicarious liability in Florida crashes if the driver was working at the time; or a government entity if the median barrier was inadequate for the road’s speed and traffic volume. Under HB 837’s modified comparative negligence standard, establishing that the other party was more than 50% at fault is now essential to any recovery.
What damages can be recovered in a Florida wrongful death claim?
mental pain and suffering of each surviving family member; medical and funeral expenses; and the lost net accumulations (earnings minus personal expenses) the deceased would have earned over their remaining lifetime. The personal representative of the estate brings the claim on behalf of all eligible beneficiaries. A wrongful death attorney in Polk County can help families calculate the full measure of these losses.
What is an Event Data Recorder (EDR) and why does it matter in this crash?
An EDR—often called a “black box”—is an electronic module in most modern vehicles that records critical data in the seconds before, during, and after a collision:vehicle speed, brake application, throttle position, steering input, seatbelt status, and airbag deployment timing.
In a disputed-liability crash like this one on SR 60, EDR data provides objective, physics-based evidence of what each driver was doing in the moments before impact. However, this data can be overwritten or lost if the vehicle is started, moved, or repaired. Immediate legal action—including a spoliation letter—is essential to preserve it.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit after a fatal car accident in Florida?
For personal injury claims based on negligence, HB 837 reduced the deadline from four years to two years from the date of the accident (for claims accruing after March 24, 2023). While two years may sound like adequate time, building a catastrophic injury or wrongful death case requires months of investigation, expert retention, and discovery—all of which must happen before the filing deadline. Families should consult an attorney within days of the crash, not months.
Why Kaiser Romanello: Trial-Ready From Day One
At Kaiser Romanello Accident & Injury Attorneys, our motto—We Don’t Take ‘Low’ For an Answer™—is not a tagline. It is a litigation philosophy built on a simple truth:
Insurance companies evaluate every claim based on one question: Is this lawyer actually willing to go to trial? If the answer is no, the insurer has zero incentive to offer fair value.
We prepare every case as if it is going to a jury. That means retaining accident reconstruction engineers, working with life care planners and forensic economists, securing EDR data and corporate safety records through formal discovery, and building a trial presentation that makes the full scope of our client’s damages undeniable.
When the insurance company on the other side of the table knows we are prepared to present a case to a Polk County jury—or any jury in Florida—the settlement conversation changes. That is the difference between a lowball offer and the compensation a family actually deserves.
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