YULEE, Fla. – Two people of four people in an SUV were killed after the driver swerved to avoid hitting a deer and crashed into a tree early Saturday morning, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
Around 12:40 a.m., the 19-year-old driver from Fernandina Beach was headed south on U.S. 17 near County Road 108, just south of Interstate 95, when he swerved to avoid hitting a deer. The vehicle went off the highway and struck a tree, according to the FHP.
Troopers have not yet released the name of the 18- and 20-year-old passengers who died in the crash.
The driver and a 19-year-old passenger from Yulee were taken to UF Health Jacksonville with minor injuries.
News4Jax spoke to a woman at the scene, who said it’s common to see deer in the area at night. She said she went to high school with the victims of the crash.
“It’s a very small, tight-knit community,” she said. "We all still went to the same high school, we all still hung out with the same people.”