At around 1:40 a.m., Ruben Carlo was driving south on Pleasant Hill Road when for an unknown reason, he swerved his Lincoln Towncar from the right lane to the left, drifting back into the right lane after about 200 to 300 feet, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. The car kept going, driving up and over the curb and then collided with the light pole and signpost at the edge of the parking lot of The Fountains Town Center plaza.

Carlo was taken to the Osceola Regional Medical Center, where he died. His son, Christian Carlo, was taken to the Arnold Palmer Hospital with serious injuries.