JACKSONVILLE, Fla – Three people were killed and four others were injured Sunday afternoon in a head-on, chain-reaction crash on Atlantic Boulevard near Empire Point, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
Police said the crash was reported around 12:30 p.m. when a teen driver traveling westbound in an Infiniti crossed over a short concrete median and entered eastbound lanes of oncoming traffic. The vehicle collided with at least one oncoming car, triggering a chain reaction involving multiple vehicles.
Three people inside one SUV were killed at the scene, police said. Two men in another SUV were hospitalized with critical injuries. A woman driving a separate car was hospitalized in stable condition. The teen driver was also hospitalized and listed in serious but stable condition.
A spokesperson for the teen driver’s family said the family is cooperating fully with law enforcement as the investigation continues.
Atlantic Boulevard was shut down for several hours between Empire Point and University Boulevard as investigators worked the scene and cleared debris.
Neighbors who live near the crash site said the deadly collision underscores long-standing traffic safety concerns along Atlantic Boulevard.
“I was driving back from church, and I came up and I saw the smoke and it kind of scared me,” Scott Thomas wife said. “I thought, oh my gosh, it looks like that like a fire in my neighborhood. And when I got here, you could smell the smoke, and I went over to my neighbors, and we could see what was going on from the backyard.”
Scott Thomas and his wife, who have lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, said residents have repeatedly raised concerns about speeding and congestion in the area, especially as nearby development has increased traffic volume.
“The conclusion of that report basically stated that they were going to put some signs up, and at this far, I don’t see the signs,” said Thomas. “I think they’re going to put a 35 mile an hour as a sign as well as a slowdown sign.”
Thomas said he and neighbors have requested traffic studies, additional warning signs and a traffic signal over the past several years.
A traffic study completed in September 2025 identified 24 crashes in a limited section of Atlantic Boulevard over a five-year period, though residents say it does not include nearby areas where additional crashes have occurred.
“All we want is something to make it safer getting in and out of our neighborhood,” Thomas said.