ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A 56-year-old Jacksonville man was killed in a crash on Interstate 95 in Saint Johns County early Wednesday morning.
According to Florida Highway Patrol, the man was heading north on I-95, as was a tractor trailer.
Authorities said the driver of the car was traveling either very slow or was stopped in the center lane and that the driver of the tractor trailer ran into the car. The driver of the car was killed.
“We did have to shut down the entire interstate on northbound lanes due to the severity of the crash and the complexity of the scene,” said Sgt. Dylan Bryan, with FHP.
Interstate 95 runs through Saint Johns County for approximately 35 miles. According to News4Jax records, there have been 25 deadly crashes along this stretch of roadway since 2016, including this morning’s fatal crash. The northbound lanes were closed for hours.
“It is a heavily traveled corridor and we do see a significant amount of crashes there.” Explained Bryan.
FHP records show since Sept. 1, 2020 until March 23, 2021 there have been a total of 46 crashes on I-95 between International Golf Parkway and the Duval County line.
Shalomaine and her partner Alonzo Coleman were traveling on their way back from Sea World for a babymoon. The couple lives in Augusta, Georgia.
“Going home there was a TT swerving in and out of lanes, which was very scary to have to deal with, especially with literally having a baby on board,” explained Shalomaine.
Coleman said he was white knuckling the steering wheel “pretty much the whole time.”
Randy Westbrook has been a tractor trailer driver for 35 years.
“Well it used to be pretty good, it is getting worse every day. I see people going down the road, watching TV driving a truck, a big truck. I see them with their feet on the dash, I’ve seen one guy had his feet on the dash, watching TV on his phone, and eating a bowl of cereal. I see too much tailgating going on out here.”
Westbrook explained truckers work 70-hour work weeks within an 8-day clock. Drivers can legally drive 11 hours a day, they have 14 hours to do all of their duties. Westbrook said his truck is equipped with technology that alerts him if he’s following too closely and if someone is on either side.
The deadly crash Wednesday remains under investigation.