Man survives 'horrific' crash that split car in half

WINTER HAVEN (FOX 13) - A Bay Area man has survived what police have called a horrific crash that split his sports car in two Tuesday evening.

It happened just before 7 p.m. on Cypress Gardens Boulevard. Winter Haven police say 20-year-old Carlos Pino was behind the wheel of his 1986 Nissan 300ZX, and was hugging one of the curves near Interlochen Boulevard, when he lost control and slid off the roadway.

The silver sports car slammed into a nearby tree on the driver’s side. The severe impact caused the vehicle to split in two, leaving the front engine compartment on one side of the tree, and the vehicle's cab -with Pino still buckled in -on the other.

Pino was airlifted to Lakeland Regional Health with non-life threatening injuries.

Officials are still investigating, but they said speed and the slick roadway may have contributed to the crash.