A fatal crash shut down every lane of Heckscher Drive on Little Marsh Island Tuesday afternoon, snarling traffic at the intersection of Milton Drive as emergency crews worked the scene. By 6:30 p.m., the road remained completely blocked in the crash area, with no timeline yet for reopening.
The Florida Highway Patrol said the crash happened at the intersection of Milton Drive, according to News4JAX, which reported that emergency crews were responding to the fatal wreck on Little Marsh Island. As of Tuesday evening, the outlet described the situation as a developing story, with details still emerging about what happened.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled History
Heckscher Drive has seen its share of deadly wrecks over the years. A 2020 crash on the roadway killed three people — 26- and 27-year-old brothers along with a 16-year-old girl — according to Action News Jax. That same report noted the Florida Highway Patrol responded to five crashes on Heckscher Drive between 2019 and 2020, and three of them proved deadly, even as Jacksonville police logged 83 crashes on the same stretch over that period without a single fatality.
More recently, a 2025 SUV-versus-SUV crash on Heckscher Drive killed a 34-year-old man and left a 57-year-old man seriously injured, per the same outlet's reporting. And back in 2016, a head-on crash near Milton Drive killed one driver and seriously injured another, closing Heckscher Drive near Blount Island for nearly five hours, according to Jacksonville.com.
Part of a Broader Pattern on Duval County Roads
The crash adds to a year that has already seen significant traffic fatalities across Duval County. JSO data shows the county recorded 127 traffic fatalities so far in 2026, compared with 130 at the same point in 2025, according to News4JAX reporting from earlier this month — though that figure reflects countywide trends and not an official analysis specific to Tuesday's crash.
No information has been released identifying who was involved in Tuesday's crash, how many people were killed or injured, or what caused it. News4JAX has flagged the story as developing, and further details are expected as the investigation continues.
