WINTER HAVEN, Fla. — Polk County Sheriff's officials are investigating a traffic crash that left a 15-year-old high school student dead in Winter Haven early Tuesday morning.

The incident happened around 5:50 a.m. in the area of 34th Street and Avenue S NW. Deputies responded to a call regarding a Dodge Durango that had collided with a teen riding an electric scooter. 

Investigators said the driver was on his way to work when he swerved to avoid hitting some dogs that ran into the road, and that’s when he hit the teen.

Yeriel Gonzalez, a sophomore at Auburndale High School, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver, 29-year-old John Barrett III of Winter Haven, was heading on his way to work before the crash. He was not injured.

Polk County Public Schools provided crisis counselors to assist the Auburndale High School faculty, staff, and students today. School officials said Gonzalez was very well known and liked by students and staff. They went on to say that the Auburndale High community is in mourning.

Polk County Public Schools issued a statement saying in part, “Yeriel was regarded as a talented baseball player and a leader among his peers in the school’s ESOL Club. This is a heartbreaking tragedy for AHS and Polk County Public Schools. Our hearts go out to Yeriel’s family and friends.”

The investigations into the crash is ongoing. There is no word on what, if any, charges the driver will face.