In a tragic incident on Wednesday night, two Fort White women lost their lives in a multi-vehicle collision in Columbia County. The Florida Highway Patrol detailed that the crash occured on US Highway 441 at County Road 778 around 8:50 p.m., involving an SUV and two pickup trucks, as reported by ActionNewsJax.
According to the FHP, a 72-year-old woman, who was driving the SUV, crossed into the oncoming northbound lane, initiating a chain reaction. First, her vehicle side-swiped a pickup truck that was stopped in the left turning lane facing north. Subsequently, her passenger, a 64-year-old woman, continued south in the northbound lane and collided head-on with a second pickup truck," reported by News4JAX.
The 72-year-old SUV driver was promptly transported to HCA Florida Lake City Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her passenger succumbed to her injuries at UF Health Shands Hospital. First Coast News noted that both victims were found not to be wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
The drivers of the pickup trucks involved experienced varying fates, with the driver of the first truck, escaped injury, while the driver of the second sustained minor injuries. The identities of the deceased have not been released pending next of kin notification, and the investigation into the cause of the accident remains ongoing, as the evening's twisted metal and shattered glass laid testimony to the suddenness of loss and the fragility of life.
