William Edward Ober III, 19, seriously injured and driver Michael Williamson, 18, arrested after car crash on Lake Mabel Loop Road on May 17.

Two men were injured Saturday night when a driver lost control of his pick-up truck on Lake Mabel Loop Rd. in Dundee.

The incident occurred at approximately 8:45 p.m. near the intersection of Almburg Rd. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene but was later located and arrested on one count of leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury.

Michael Williamson, 18, was booked into the Polk County Jail after he was treated for some minor injuries at Heart of Florida Hospital. His passenger, 19-year-old William Edward Ober III, was airlifted from the crash site to Lakeland Regional Medical Center where he is listed in critical condition.

According to a Polk County Sheriff’s Office report Williamson was traveling south on Lake Mable Loop in his 1993 Chevrolet pick-up truck when he failed to negotiate a curve in the roadway. The vehicle rotated, struck a utility pole and flipped over onto its roof at the edge of a citrus grove.

Witnesses to the crash who stopped to render assistance reported seeing one man attempting to pull another from the passenger side of the truck. Williamson ran off leaving Ober III in the damaged vehicle.

Deputies located Williamson at his home in Haines City. He told investigators that he ran away because he was scared. He admitted to being the driver of the truck.

A preliminary investigation revealed that speed played a factor in the crash. Neither man was wearing a seatbelt, the vehicle was not equipped with airbags and the driver may have been impaired. A toxicology report will determine that.

The roadway was closed for approximately five hours. Additional charges may be filed as the investigation continues.