Rig narrowly misses Floridan Highway Patrol car

Floridan Staff Report
Published: June 3, 2008

A tractor-trailer rig traveling through a construction zone in Jackson County narrowly missed colliding with a Florida Highway Patrol cruiser before crashing into a work truck Tuesday.

According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, the accident occurred on Interstate 10 near mile marker 160 on the east side of Jackson County.

The Mack truck, driven by Tallahassee resident Darvis L. Whitehead, was eastbound when it veered out of its lane in a curve and entered an emergency lane. It nearly struck an FHP patrol car which had its overhead emergency lights and directional arrow activated, according to reports, but was able to avoid it and reenter the outside eastbound lane.

However, it then struck a slow-moving construction vehicle from behind, according to FHP reports.

The construction vehicle, a 2003 Volvo mode driven by Jeramy G. Johnson of Sorrento, was moving at about 10 miles per hour at the time. With its large directional arrow board activated, the Volvo was directing traffic toward the inside eastbound lane, and had a large orange and white collision buffer attached to the back. The crash caused the Mack truck to jackknife across both eastbound lanes, obstructing the road.

A large fuel and oil spill resulting from the crash made it necessary for the road to be closed in that area for approximately three hours.

Neither driver was seriously hurt, but damage to the Mack was estimated at $80,000 and damage to the Volvo at $50,000 in the 9:54 a.m. crash.

FHP was assisted at the scene by the Florida Department of Transportation, the Sneads Volunteer Fire Department, Jackson County Fire Rescue, Gadsden County EMS, Jackson County Emergency Management and the Sycamore Volunteer Fire Department.

Charges may be pending further investigation, according to FHP reports.