A 66-year-old woman died Friday night following a crash in Frostproof, Polk County deputies say. According to reports, Leilani Dickhaus was riding with her daughter in a Nissan Altima when the accident occurred. 

  • Leilani Dickhaus, 66, died in car crash Friday night
  • Deputies say other driver ran through a stop sign
  • All parties involved were wearing seatbelts

Around 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17, Angela Dickhaus, 43, was heading southbound on Scenic Highway 17, near Old Fort Meade Road, when her car was struck on the passenger side by a blue Ford F-150 truck. Tristan Benning, 19, of Lakeland, was reportedly behind the wheel.  

Deputies say the impact caused both vehicles to spin. They crashed into a power pole, which broke in half.

Investigators believe Benning failed to stop at a stop sign.

Leilani died at the scene, her daughter, Angela, is in stable condition at Florida Heartland Hospital.

Neither Benning nor his passenger, 20-year-old Kathryn Springfield, were injured, deputies say.  

All occupants of both vehicles were wearing seatbelts. Roadways in the area were shut down throughout the evening due to the downed power pole.