College Student Among 4 Killed When Planes Collide and Sink Into Florida Lake, Cops Say

A 19-year-old Polk State College student was among four killed when two planes collided over Florida’s Lake Hartridge, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.

Investigators say “a lot of eye witnesses” saw the small planes crash mid-air just after 2 on Tuesday, March 7, officials said at a news conference.

The planes “immediately” hit the water, with one sinking 21 feet to the bottom and the other remaining partially afloat, officials said. The lake is about 50 miles east of Tampa, in Winter Haven.

Four bodies have been recovered from the wreckage and the identities of three have been released:

• Faith Irene Baker, 24, of Winter Haven, a pilot/flight instructor with Sunrise Aviation (Cherokee Piper 161).

• Zachary Jean Mace, 19, of Winter Haven, a student at Polk State College (Cherokee Piper 161).

• Randall Elbert Crawford, 67, from Carlisle, Pennsylvania (Piper J-3 Cub).

“Deputies are working to confirm the identity of a fourth deceased person (Piper J-3 Cub),” officials said. “All four located persons are the only occupants of the planes.”

The National Transportation Safety Board said on Twitter it is investigating the cause of the crash.

Polk State College released a statement noting Mace was a student pilot working with Baker.

“Our Polk State College family is devastated by this tragedy,” Polk State President Angela Garcia Falconetti said in the release. “We extend our deepest condolences to their families, friends, and colleagues.”

Mace was in a fixed-wing plane operated by Sunrise Aviation of Ormond Beach on behalf of Polk State, the sheriff’s office reports. It collided with a Piper J3 Cub Seaplane operated by Jack Brown’s Seaplane Base of Winter Haven, officials said.

Lake Hartridge covers 437 acres and sits just southeast of Winter Haven Regional Airport.

“My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who were killed in today’s crash,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a release. “Please keep the families in your prayers during this difficult and stressful time.”

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