JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man is dead after he crashed his car into a crane on Jacksonville's Westside.
State troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol said the crash was reported on Interstate 295 near Firestone Road about 11:30 a.m. The crash caused traffic backups for hours.
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A commercial truck pulling a crane broke down for some reason and the driver pulled into the emergency lane on I-295 southbound, troopers said. The driver put up some reflective devices to keep other cars away and they moved to the other side of the road to wait in a safe place until help arrived.
Sometime after that, the driver of a silver Honda Accord, who apparently did not see the vehicle, crashed directly into the back part of the crane. The driver died instantly.
“The impact happened in the left emergency lane. Now that vehicle was straddling the fog lane or the yellow line of the interstate,” said Sgt. Dylan Bryan. “But it was partially off the interstate if you will.”
The name of the Honda driver has not been released, pending next-of-kin notification.
Troopers told News4Jax that they do not plan to charge anyone in the crash. FHP believes the driver of the truck that was pulling the crane did everything he could to avoid any accidents.
“At this point we are just thankful that there were no other additional vehicles or injuries, but our thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the driver,” Bryan said.