Two teenagers died and three others were injured in separate traffic crashes about 10 minutes apart Friday night in Jacksonville and Neptune Beach.
Earlier in the week 17-year-old Alaysha Williams, a multi-sport Ed White High School athlete, died from injuries she sustained in a hit-and-run Monday morning while attempting to cross Blanding Boulevard on the Westside. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Friday that those involved have been identified and are no longer being sought, though they did not report any arrests.
The first of Friday’s fatalities occurred about 10 p.m. on Butler Boulevard at Belfort Road in Jacksonville. A 15-year-old boy died and three other teens suffered serious injuries in a three-vehicle crash that also injured two adult drivers in separate vehicles, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.
The teens ― all from Jacksonville ― were in a Lexus GS sedan. The Lexus was being driven by a 16-year-old boy and occupied by three passengers ― a boy and girl both 15 and a 16-year-old boy, according to the crash report. The Highway Patrol does not provide names in the initial reports.
The other vehicles were a Dodge Charger driven by a 27-year-old Middleburg man and a Genesis GV70 sport-utility vehicle driven by a 51-year-old Jacksonville woman. The adults, whose injuries were listed as minor, were alone in their vehicles.
All three vehicles were westbound on Butler when the Lexus collided with the Dodge, which then collided with the Genesis. The Lexus rolled over multiple times ejecting one of the passengers, according to the FHP report that listed the 15-year-old boy as the fatality.
It was not specified where the teens were coming from or heading when the crash occurred.
In the second fatality about 10 minutes later, A 15-year-old Neptune Beach boy was riding his bicycle home from the Fletcher High School homecoming football game when struck and killed at the five-way intersection of Florida Boulevard, Penman Road and Forest Avenue, Neptune Beach Police Chief Michael Key Jr. said during a media briefing Saturday.
Key said the boy was traveling within the legal crosswalk at Penman when he was struck by a sedan heading north on Penman. “Another child who was with the victim was also nearby but was uninjured,” he said.
The driver, a 34-year-old Jacksonville woman, sustained minor injuries, according to the FHP report. Key said the driver stopped and cooperated with investigators.
The boy’s parents and family “are simply devastated,” said Key, who noted he sat with them in their living room after the boy died.
“There are simply no words to express the loss of a child,” said Key, noting the family has asked for privacy. “They need to grieve appropriately and privately.”
Key also said to protect the integrity of the FHP investigation he would not comment on any contributing factors such as the layout of the intersection and potential safety concerns about it.
Mayor Elaine Brown and Key emphasized that the city is an extremely close-knit community.
“Our community right now, we’re mourning,” Brown said during the briefing. “As people are hearing about this, it is something that is very devastating to this whole community and to the Fletcher community.”
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Source: jacksonville
