A predawn crash on a Columbia County curve left a 26-year-old Wellborn woman dead early Sunday after the vehicle she was riding in veered off County Road 245 and hit a tree, officials said. Three other occupants suffered serious injuries and were flown to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville for treatment. Troopers with the Florida Highway Patrol responded to the scene around 4 a.m., and the crash remains under investigation.
What officials say
According to Action News Jax, the Florida Highway Patrol reports a 22-year-old Lake City man was driving north on County Road 245 near Southeast Sharon Lane when he failed to negotiate a curve and the Nissan left the roadway and struck a tree. FHP said the front-right passenger, the 26-year-old Wellborn woman, was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators continue to examine the crash circumstances.
Victims and response
Mainstreet Daily News reported the other occupants included an 18-year-old Lake City man and a 23-year-old man from Live Oak, both of whom sustained serious injuries and were airlifted to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville. The FHP Traffic Homicide Investigation Unit is handling the case, according to the local report.
Roadway departure crashes are often deadly
Crashes in which a vehicle leaves the roadway and hits a fixed object such as a tree often result in catastrophic injuries. According to the Federal Highway Administration, roadway-departure collisions account for roughly half of all traffic fatalities in the United States. The agency recommends countermeasures such as improved curve treatments, rumble strips and clear zones to reduce those risks, and transportation officials often point to those measures in rural-curve safety work.
