Lake Wales, Florida – At approximately 7:00 am, on Sunday, January 17, 2016, the PCSO Emergency Communications Center was notified of an ATV crash in the parking lot at the Lake Wales Alliance Church, 325 Buckmoore Road, Lake Wales. Fire and Medic units responded and determined 23-year-old Jarrod Schiff of Lake Wales was deceased.
The initial investigation indicates that sometime during the nighttime hours, Schiff was riding his side by side ATV in the citrus grove located directly south of the crash scene. The ATV was equipped with an enclosed metal frame passenger compartment with a plastic roof. It also had two bucket type seats equipped a with lap and shoulder safety restraint system. ATV tracks were found exiting the grove onto the church property where the crash occurred. The ATV appears to have entered the church property near the southeast corner and then proceeded west to the parking lot area. The Parking lot has paved roadways with grass parking spaces. The ATV appears to have entered one of the grass parking areas near the southwest corner of the church and began to spin the ATV around doing a “doughnut.” After spinning approximately 360 degrees the ATV rolled over ejecting the Schiff who became pinned underneath.
Schiff did not appear to be utilizing the safety restraint system and was not wearing any type of protective head gear at the time of the crash. There was no evidence of other vehicles or persons being involved in this crash. Impairment and distracted driving to not appear to be factors in the crash at this time. No charges are currently anticipated.
A large portion of the church parking lot was closed for a short time, but was re-opened prior the beginning of services