Logs crash onto SUV and kill Florida driver after collision with truck, witnesses say

A motorist in North Florida was killed when her SUV strayed too close to a tractor-trailer and collided with its load of logs, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Video of the aftermath shared by station WJAX shows the woman’s SUV was crushed when the collision propelled logs off the trailer and onto her car.

The identity of the 25-year-old from Fernandina Beach was not released.

It happened around 12:45 a.m. Tuesday, July 18, in the Yulee community, about 24 miles north of Jacksonville, the Highway Patrol says.

The woman was traveling east on the six-lane Buccaneer Trail (State Road 200) when she came up behind a semi-tractor truck hauling a trailer loaded with logs, officials say.

Investigators say the SUV “failed to maintain a safe distance” and collided with logs in the trailer near the intersection of Buccaneer Trail and Felmor Road.

The woman was taken to a hospital in Jacksonville, “where she was pronounced deceased.” Details of her injuries were not released.

Investigators say the 28-year-old man driving the tractor-trailer was not injured.

This story was originally published July 19, 2023 at 8:56 AM with the headline "Logs crash onto SUV and kill Florida driver after collision with truck, witnesses say."