BRYCEVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville man charged in the head-on crash that killed three people in Nassau County over the weekend has a lengthy criminal history, including four DUI convictions, online court records show.
Shawn Blitchington, 45, was driving a Ford F-250 that crossed the lanes of U.S. 301 in Bryceville about 11 p.m. Saturday and struck a Honda Civic headed the opposite way, according to his arrest report.
Troopers said three people inside the Civic -- Bailey McKnight, 22, Ryan Kennedy, 21, and the couple's child with whom McKnight was eight months pregnant -- died at the scene.
McKnight's cousin, Brooke Price, said McKnight's death is a devastating blow to the family that lost a son only two years ago.
"Bailey was their safe place and losing Bailey is like ripping off a band-aid of an old wound," said Price. "They have to go through everything all over again. It's still fresh, it's still numb, it's unbelievable."
Blitchington, who did not have a valid license, ditched the pickup and ran from the scene, despite efforts of a witness to keep him there, troopers said. Deputies captured him nearby several hours later.
Charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving a death, Blitchington was taken to UF Health Jacksonville for treatment of a collapsed lung. Once released, he was booked into jail in Nassau County.
Because there were three people killed, he faces up to 90 years in prison if convicted of leaving the scene of the deadly crash.
Court records show Blitchington has a history of traffic offense in Northeast Florida over the years. In fact, he was arrested five times for driving under the influence since 2002:
- He was convicted after pleading no contest to a DUI charge stemming from a February 2002 arrest in Duval County. He received probation.
- He entered the same plea after his January 2003 arrest for DUI and was sentenced to probation in that case.
- Charged in December 2004 with DUI in Nassau County, he was convicted after pleading no contest and got probation.
- He was charged with DUI, driving without a valid license and refusing to submit to a breath test in October 2008 in Nassau County. The DUI was reduced to reckless driving.
- He was found guilty of DUI after pleading no contest to a November 2011 charge in Nassau County and was sentenced to 90 days in jail.
Sissy Graddy Kruger, a friend of the couple, said her daughter Hailey was supposed to go to McKnight's baby shower this weekend. Reached Monday, she had words for Blitchington.
"He should have been taught a lesson, but he wasn't," said Kruger. "It looked like looking at his rap sheet he got a pat on the back and now he’s taken three lives. I hope he rots in hell. I really do."
McKnight leaves behind a 3-year-old son from a previous relationship. Her family has set up a GoFundMe page to raise money to cover the crash victims' funeral expenses.