JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 31-year-old woman was killed Tuesday morning in a head-on crash at the intersection of County Road 218 and Mimosa Avenue in Middleburg, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The crash was reported just after 6 a.m.
Troopers said the driver of a white pickup truck, 45-year-old Michael Michell, had just passed Cocoa Avenue, headed eastbound when for some reason he veered onto the left shoulder and then drove into oncoming traffic, colliding with a gray car that had just come around the corner. Kathryn Touchton, the driver of the car, died at the scene.
"It's not directly head on. It's an offset hit, but obviously a terrible, terrible tragedy with this," FHP Master Sgt. Dylan Bryan said. "We have two occupants -- one driver of each vehicle."
Michell was taken to Orange Park Medical Center with serious injuries, according to the FHP report.
Visibility issues were being considered as the accident happened about sunrise.
"That's obviously one of the factors we are going to look at, especially when you have any kind of roadway that travels east and west," Bryan said. "Those are factors that are going to be looked at, as well as anything else we can come up with."
All lanes were blocked between Mimosa Avenue and Cocoa Avenue while troopers investigated. County Road 218 reopened about 10:30 a.m.
Neighbors said the area is a busy stretch of road and cars often speed, sometimes passing other cars in the opposite lane. Troopers did not say if either of those factored into Tuesday's crash.
Touchton's loved ones have set up a GoFundMe account for a memorial fund to help her family.