JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Two men are dead after a wrong-way crash early Saturday morning on northbound Interstate 95.
The head-on crash happened on Jacksonville’s Overland Bridge, just south of the Main Street Bridge exit.
Florida Highway Patrol troopers said neither of the men killed was wearing a seat belt. Now troopers are trying to find out what caused the collision that left the two vehicles smashed and crumpled.
Investigators believe 40-year-old Levi Walter was driving his pickup truck southbound in the northbound lanes of I-95 when he collided head-on near the Main Street Bridge exit with 41-year-old Robert Upson’s van.
Upson was driving in the correct direction. Both men died.
Investigators said they have reason to believe Walter was under the influence.
“We did find active signs and indicators of alcohol in this traffic crash,” FHP spokesman Master Sgt. Dylan Bryan said.
Bryan said Florida Highway Patrol traffic homicide detectives are still trying to find out where Walter got into the wrong lanes and why.
Wrong-way crashes are a big problem in Northeast Florida. FHP records show there were 1,490 wrong-way crashes across the state last year, causing 96 fatalities. A long list of those were in Northeast Florida.
“Stay right at night. That is kind of a little catch phrase that we are using,” Bryan said of troopers' advice for drivers.
Troopers urge drivers to stay in the right lane, particularly at night, because most wrong-way crashes happen in the left lane between 9 p.m. and 2 a.m.
Drivers often have just seconds, if that, to react, troopers said.
“We do encourage (drivers) to pay attention, limit distractions and look far enough down the road,” Bryan said. “That way you can hopefully make some type of adjustment to the particular hazard coming at you.”
The families of the men killed in Saturday's crash have not responded to requests for comment. Many people are posting condolences on the men's Facebook pages.