Investigators say speeding and possible street racing preceded the head-on collision.
KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Florida troopers have arrested a man they say caused a 2023 crash on U.S. 192 in Kissimmee that killed three seniors, ending a nearly three-year investigation that stretched more than 1,000 miles and relied on DNA testing and data recovered from a vehicle.
Marquise Worlds is jailed in Osceola County and faces three counts of vehicular homicide. Investigators say Worlds was driving a vehicle that crossed into oncoming traffic in March 2023 and struck another car, killing everyone inside that vehicle. Troopers say the case moved forward after investigators gathered witness accounts, executed search warrants and reviewed surveillance video, then used forensic evidence to identify the driver.
The collision happened on U.S. 192 near Four Winds Boulevard, a busy corridor in central Florida that carries heavy local traffic along with visitors headed to hotels, restaurants and attractions. Troopers say the initial crash report found the vehicle attributed to Worlds crossed the center line and hit a car coming the opposite direction. The three people killed in the struck car were 78, 71 and 65, according to investigators. No names were released in court documents described by troopers, and officials did not immediately say where the victims lived.
Investigators say the case took shape slowly after the crash because the driver suspected of causing it was not immediately confirmed by traditional means. Over the following months and years, troopers interviewed witnesses who were on the roadway at the time and tracked down people who were nearby. Investigators also served search warrants seeking records and evidence connected to the crash and collected surveillance video from the area, troopers said. That video, investigators say, became important when it appeared to show more than one vehicle traveling at high speed just before impact.
Florida Highway Patrol investigators said they used DNA evidence to place Worlds behind the wheel of the vehicle that lost control and crossed into oncoming traffic. Troopers did not describe publicly where the DNA was recovered from or how many samples were tested, but they said it supported the conclusion that Worlds was the driver. Investigators also recovered electronic data recorder information from the vehicle, sometimes compared to a vehicle’s “black box,” and said it showed the car was traveling between 94 and 101 mph about 4.5 seconds before the crash. The posted speed limit in that area is 45 mph, troopers said.
Based on the speed data and the video, investigators say they believe Worlds was street racing in the moments leading up to the collision. Troopers said surveillance video showed another vehicle speeding alongside Worlds’ vehicle. Investigators have not announced charges against any other driver, but they said the search continues for the driver of a white Honda Pilot that was in the area and was traveling at very high speed. Troopers said the Honda Pilot was moving between 97 and 107 mph before the crash, according to investigative records described in the case.
The hunt for a second driver has become a central piece of what investigators say is still an active case, even after Worlds’ arrest. Troopers asked for help identifying the driver of the white Honda Pilot and have not said whether that vehicle made contact with any other car or whether the driver stopped after the collision. Officials also have not said how close the two vehicles were to each other at the moment the crash occurred, or whether any additional video captures the vehicles farther down the roadway. Troopers said they are still reviewing evidence and following leads tied to the second vehicle.
Worlds was arrested after investigators tracked him to Illinois, troopers said, describing the distance as more than 1,000 miles from the crash scene. Officials did not publicly detail how he was located, when he left Florida or whether he had been living in Illinois for a long period. He was brought back to Osceola County after his arrest, and the case is now moving through the local court system, where prosecutors are seeking to keep him jailed as it proceeds.
The state has filed a motion for pretrial detention, troopers said, a step prosecutors can use to argue that a defendant should be held in jail while a case is pending. Court records were not summarized in detail by investigators, and it was not immediately clear when a judge would hold a hearing on the request. Vehicular homicide cases often turn on questions of recklessness, crash reconstruction and the reliability of forensic and electronic records. Investigators have said they will rely on multiple streams of evidence, including the DNA findings and the vehicle data, as the case advances.
At the crash site, the roadway has remained a familiar route for commuters and tourists, and neighbors and workers along U.S. 192 have seen serious collisions before. Troopers said the March 2023 crash stood out because three people in one car died at the scene, and because the investigation required investigators to connect a driver to the vehicle through forensic testing rather than a quick admission. In announcing the arrest, investigators emphasized that the inquiry included witness interviews, warrant work and video review over several years.
The case now hinges on upcoming court proceedings and the search for the second driver troopers say was speeding nearby. Worlds remains in the Osceola County Jail as prosecutors pursue pretrial detention and investigators continue seeking the driver of the white Honda Pilot.
Author note: Last updated Feb. 23, 2026.