JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol says Eugene Miller, 20, of Fleming Island, died in a single-car crash on I-295 southbound near Collins Road.
Miller graduated from Fleming Island High School where he played on the basketball team. His family says they are still processing what happened.
The FHP says Miller veered off the road around 5:45 a.m. He traveled between the guardrails and hit a sign support pole.
"I could tell that the car had veered off and hit the barricade and the pole that holds the sign that says Collins Road, and you could tell that the impact was hard, because the car was totally engulfed in flames,” said Janell Lancaster, who saw the crash.
Lancaster was driving by around the time of the crash and says she saw what she now believes was Miller's wreckage. She says paramedics weren't even on the scene, but people were scrambling around the car to help.
"I was just shocked -- I was shocked and I just immediately began to pray, because I didn't know what the impact was, I didn't know what the outcome would be. So, you know, to try to keep myself calm still driving, I just began to pray and just hoping for the best for whoever was involved," Lancaster said.
News4Jax spoke to a man who identifies himself as Warren Miller's father at their Fleming Island Home. He said the family is too distraught to talk.
FHP says Miller died at the scene. Very little information is available about the crash and it’s still not clear what caused Miller’s car to leave the road.
