ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – A crowd gathered Wednesday night along State Road 16 in St. Johns County, holding signs and lighting candles to honor the man killed a day earlier in a crash that Florida Highway Patrol says followed an encounter involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The vigil was held near SR-16 and Green Acres Road, where FHP says a 28-year-old man ran into traffic and was struck by a tractor-trailer.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, troopers were dispatched around 6:42 a.m. Tuesday to a traffic fatality on State Road 16 at Green Acres Road.
FHP says a tractor-trailer was traveling eastbound when the man ran across the road and into the truck’s path. He suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene. FHP said the tractor-trailer driver stopped immediately and attempted to render aid and was not injured.
Troopers say the moments leading up to the crash began at a nearby gas station parking lot on SR-16, where Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and ICE agents had an encounter with a vehicle. FHP says four occupants fled on foot and one of them ran across SR-16 before being hit.
On Wednesday, the Department of Homeland Security provided News4JAX a statement confirming a DHS operation in the area and noting investigators are still working the case:
“On July 14, DHS law enforcement conducted an operation near St. Johns, Florida. Florida Highway Patrol and HSI are investigating an incident resulting in the death of a Mexican national. We will provide an update when available.”
Wednesday night, people lined the shoulder of SR-16, leaving flowers, candles and handwritten messages at the site of the crash. Passing drivers honked as they went by.
One organizer, Katie Chorbak, said the group wanted to raise awareness about immigration enforcement actions and what she described as a broader pattern of fear and escalation.
“It’s the same level of violence,” Chorbak said. “Whether it’s with a gun or you’re forcing people to run into traffic, violence is violence.”
Another attendee, Jaime Swedeen, said she came out to show support for the victim’s family.
“I’m sorry,” Swedeen said. “All these people out here and people across the country are not going to let him die in vain.”