The SUV owner was setting up at a church flea market when the carjacking took place, Pasco deputies said.

PASCO COUNTY – A Port Richey man died early Saturday (April 27) in a crash on State Road 52 during what appeared to be a carjacking, according to the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office.

Hermel Rene Levesque, 74, of Port Richey, died at the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The driver, Jose Antonio Morales, 34-, of Weeki Wachee, was taken to the Regional Medical Center at Bayonet Point in critical condition. Neither man was wearing a seat belt, troopers said.

Pasco deputies said that preliminary information indicated they  they received a call about 5:12 a.m. about a suspected carjacking. They said Mr. Levesque was unloading items from a 2018 Ford Explorer that had an attached utility trailer. He was setting up a table to sell items at the St. Marks Church flea market, 7922 SR 52.

The SUV left the lot, heading east on SR 52 with Mr. Levesque still inside. Contents from the SUV and trailer were strewn about from the parking lot to the point where the truck and trailer rolled over by Nature Trail on SR 52.

FHP troopers said Morales lost control of the SUV, which left the road, entered the outside shoulder where it collided with a palm tree and overturned.

Pasco Sheriff | Florida Highway Patrol | Hermel Rene Levesque | Carjacking | State Road 52 Crash | Tampabay News

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