SANDERSON, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating an accident in Baker County on Friday afternoon between a car and a UPS delivery truck that killed two adults from Lake City and seriously injured a 3-year-old baby.
The accident occurred at 1:25 p.m. on U.S. 90 by the entry ramp to Interstate 10, just west of Sanderson.Â
Troopers say a Ford Taurus was westbound on 90 when a UPS truck exited I-10 and pulled across the highway toward a gas station across the highway.
The car spun out of control, cross into the eastbound lanes and continued into a ditch, overturned and its roof struck a tree.
Driver Richard Ratliff, 60 and passenger Annie Ratliff, 58, were pronounced dead at the scene. The boy, Bentley Bennett, also of Lake City, who troopers say was strapped in a safety seat, was flown by air ambulance to the UF Health at Jacksonville trauma center. He was listed in serious condition.
Georgia Ann Gray, 55, of Berkley Springs, W.V., who was driving the UPS truck, was not injured. Troopers say it was the third in a caravan of three brand-new UPS vehicles being delivered to the company.
Residents of Sanderson said that the intersection where U.S. 90 meets Interstate 10 in Sanderson is a very dangerous stretch of road.
"People do not look, they don't stop at the stop sign," said Mack Andzeiczak. "They don't look, they're in a hurry, shoot across and they get T-boned at 60 miles per hour, 70 miles per hour, whatever people are traveling at."
Andzeiczak owns a business in Sanderson. He said crashes, like the deadly crash that happened Friday, are not a surprise.
"They don't look. If you just sit there with the camera for a couple seconds, they don't even stop at stop sign, just shoot across," Andzeiczak said.
"We have moderate amounts of traffic that exits to Sanderson or to Lake City," said Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. James Powell. "A lot of traffic because you have Columbia County Correctional facility in Columbia County."
According the arrest report, charges are pending the outcome of the investigation. FHP is still investigating the accident.