JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man died and two girls were injured in a wrong-way crash early Thursday morning on the Wonderwood Connector, between Mayport and East Arlington, police said.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, a man driving east in the westbound lanes about 12:55 a.m. struck another car head-on.
The man's car burst into flames after the crash. He was pulled out of the car and rushed to a hospital, where he later died, said JSO Sgt. M. Nguyen.
Police said the teenage driver and a girl about 10 years old in the second car were also taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
The names of those involved and other details were not released at the scene.
All westbound lanes of the bridge were shut down during the investigation but reopened about 5:30 a.m.
Stephen Johnson, who lives yards away from the Wonderwood Connector, told News4Jax that the stretch of roadway where the crash happened has been problematic for some time.
"The traffic is getting worse and worse," he said.
According to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, from July 2017 to July 2018, there have been 89 calls reporting wrong-way drivers in Duval County.
Authorities said there is a multiagency effort combating wrong-way driving throughout the state. It involves signs, some of which are equipped with cameras and radars that alert other drivers and law enforcement officers of wrong-way drivers.