Florida Personal Injury Lawyers Blog

July 28, 2025

News: Collision between car and semi-truck on Florida Turnpike kills 1, injures 1

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

LAKE COUNTY, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol was dispatched to a fatal wreck involving a sedan and a semi-truck in Lake County on Thursday night.

A report by WKMG states the crash took place on Florida’s Turnpike near Hancock Road at about 10:15 p.m. The FHP determined that the driver of a 2025 Hyundai Elantra was heading south on the Turnpike and failed to slow down for a semi that had slowed for traffic ahead of it. The sedan crashed into the back of the truck.

The driver of the Hyundai, a 22-year-old man, died at the scene. His passenger, a 23-year-old woman, was hospitalized with serious injuries. The two occupants of the Hyundai, both from Mobile, Alabama, were not believed to have been wearing seat belts at the time of the collision.

July 25, 2025

News: High Springs man, 68, dies after being struck by pickup truck on U.S. Highway 27

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

HIGH SPRINGS, FL – Emergency crews were called to a fatal pedestrian collision in Alachua County on Wednesday morning, according to the Main Street Daily News.

The victim was a 68-year-old High Springs man who was struck and killed by a pickup truck on U.S. Highway 27 near NW 172 Avenue south of High Springs. The Florida Highway Patrol said the man had been in the roadway on U.S. 27, causing traffic backups in both directions.

A 66-year-old Newberry man was driving a pickup truck northbound at 11:13 a.m. and swerved to avoid the stopped traffic. The pickup went onto the east shoulder of U.S. 27 at the same time the High Springs man had exited the roadway, and the pedestrian was struck on the shoulder of the road.

July 24, 2025

News: Search underway for driver involved in fatal Marion County hit-and-run

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

MARION COUNTY, FL – Authorities are trying to track down the driver involved in a fatal hit-and-run incident that occurred in Marion County late Wednesday night.

WKMG reports the pedestrian crash took place along County Road 464 near Bahia Road. The Florida Highway Patrol stated a man was walking in the westbound lane at about 11:25 p.m. when he was hit by the front of a westbound vehicle.

The victim, a 66-year-old Ocala man, was found dead in the right turn lane of C.R. 464. The driver left the scene without stopping to report the collision, state troopers said. The area where it happened was dark and did not have street lighting.

July 23, 2025

News: Motorcyclist killed, driver injured in collision on Archer Road in Gainesville

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

GAINESVILLE, FL – Authorities were called to the scene of a fatal motorcycle collision in Gainesville on Wednesday morning, according to a report in the Gainesville Sun.

The Florida Highway Patrol and Alachua County Sheriff’s Office responded to Archer Road/State Road 24 near the intersection with Southwest 48th Drive shortly before 7 a.m. The FHP’s report indicates a driver was heading east on State Road 24 and trying to make a left turn into a business. A motorcyclist who was going west on the roadway struck the right front of the vehicle as it was making the turn.

The motorcyclist, a 33-year-old man from Gainesville, died at the scene. The driver of the sedan, a 72-year-old Gainesville man, suffered minor injuries.

July 22, 2025

News: 2 women injured, 1 critically, in collision on Hawthorne Road in Grove Park area

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a collision in Alachua County that sent two people to the hospital on Friday morning.

The Alachua Chronicle reports the two-vehicle wreck occurred on State Road 20 (Hawthorne Road) near SE 159th Street in the Grove Park area at about 7:45 a.m. State troopers said the driver of an SUV was heading east when the vehicle went off the roadway and onto the grassy shoulder, where it began to rotate. The SUV then went across both eastbound lanes, into the grass median and overturned before entering the westbound lanes, where it collided with a sedan.

The SUV driver, a 27-year-old woman from Ocala, was ejected from the vehicle and rushed to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. The driver of the sedan, a 60-year-old Hawthorne woman, was seriously injured and was listed in stable condition at the hospital.

July 21, 2025

News: 1 dead, 2 injured in crash after driver goes through red light on SR-200

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

OCALA FL – A collision in Marion County on Thursday evening left one person dead and two others injured, the Ocala StarBanner reports.

The Florida Highway Patrol was called to the scene at the intersection of State Road 200 and Southwest 103rd Street Road in Ocala after the fatal crash occurred at about 7:24 p.m. The FHP’s initial investigation determined that the driver of a pickup truck was heading east in the right lane on SR-200 and failed to stop at a red light.

The pickup crashed into the passenger side of a sedan that was heading west in the left lane of SR-200 and trying to turn onto SW 103rd Street Road. A passenger in the sedan, a 70-year-old Ocala man, was pronounced dead after being taken to HCA Florida Ocala Hospital. The sedan driver, also a 70-year-old Ocala resident, was hospitalized in serious condition.

July 18, 2025

News: Florida’s Turnpike closed in Leesburg after semi-truck crashes into guardrail

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

LEESBURG, FL – A portion of Florida’s Turnpike in Lake County was shut down during Friday morning’s commute due to a truck accident, WKMG reported.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the driver of a 2012 Freightliner was going south on the Turnpike when the crash occurred at about 5 a.m. at mile marker 287 in Leesburg. The FHP said the steering failed on the vehicle and the semi went off the roadway, where it crashed into a guardrail and overturned.

No injuries were reported. The driver was a 50-year-old man from Grand Ridge, Florida.

July 17, 2025

News: Driver killed when tree falls on Marsh Bend Trail in Wildwood

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

WILDWOOD, FL – The Wildwood Police Department responded to an accident that killed a driver on a local roadway on Thursday morning.

In a Facebook post, police said the fatal incident occurred on Marsh Bend Trail near McNeil Drive at about 10:10 a.m. A driver was headed south when their car was struck by what police said was a naturally falling tree.

The driver, the vehicle’s only occupant, died at the scene. The victim’s identity was not immediately released.

July 16, 2025

News: Woman charged with vehicular manslaughter for fatal accident in The Villages

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

THE VILLAGES, FL – An arrest has been made in connection with a fatal collision that occurred in The Villages on Dec. 13, 2024, according to a report by The Villages-News.

53-year-old Rhonda Michelle Gilbert of Ocklawaha has been charged with vehicular manslaughter in the crash on State Road 44 near the entrance to Lake Deaton Plaza. The Florida Highway Patrol said Gilbert was speeding in a 2024 Ford Fusion when she collided with a vehicle driven by 85-year-old Michael Frank DeMulling of New York, who was killed.

Crash data showed Gilbert had been traveling at 106 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone, and witnesses said she had been passing vehicles and making lane changes prior to the wreck. Gilbert was freed on bond following her arrest earlier this month. She is scheduled to be arraigned on Sept. 2.

July 15, 2025

News: Ocala man killed in wreck after driver goes through stop sign in Marion County

by Whittel & Melton, LLC

MARION COUNTY, FL – A multi-vehicle wreck near Ocala in Marion Couty on Tuesday morning claimed the life of a passenger in one of the vehicles, according to WKMG.

The Florida Highway Patrol investigated the crash at the intersection of Marion Oaks Manor and Marion Oaks Boulevard. Troopers learned that the driver of a van traveling west on Marion Oaks Manor went through a stop sign at about 6:15 a.m. and collided with a van that was going through the intersection with the right of way. The second vehicle rotated and struck a car that was stopped for a stop sign nearby.

A rear passenger in the second van, a 28-year-old man from Ocala, suffered fatal injuries. Other occupants in the vehicles were taken to area hospitals with minor injuries.