YULEE, Fla. – A southbound box truck on Interstate 95 in Nassau County crashed through the median early Thursday morning and struck a northbound semi-truck head-on, killing one of the drivers, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 56-year-old man from Plant City driving the semi died at the scene. His name has not been released pending notification of family. George Lamb, 56, of Woodbine, Georgia, who was driving the box truck, was taken to UF Health Jacksonville with serious injuries.
Troopers said the crash took place at 7:22 a.m., but it took eight hours before the northbound lanes of I-95 near the State Road 200 exit was fully reopened to traffic.
"(I) was just ready to pull off for some gas, to use the bathroom, so four extra hours made it kind of difficult," motorist Debbie Maddux said of her delay.
The FHP told News4Jax that an unusual amount of debris was scattered in the road and there were secondary accidents along the detour route to U.S. 17, which all contributed to the delay of getting the accident cleared and highway reopened.
Photos posted on the Nassau County Fire-Rescue 3101's Facebook page showed heavy damage to both trucks involved.