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Deadly crash on Buckman Bridge, vehicle into St. Johns River

The 23-year-old FDOT driver rear-ended the Toyota, causing it to travel onto the right shoulder and strike the concrete wall. The Toyota then traveled over the wall and into the water below.
Vehicle over the Buckman Bridge in deadly crash The 23-year-old FDOT driver rear-ended the Toyota, causing it to travel onto the right shoulder and strike the concrete wall. The Toyota then traveled over the wall and into the water below. (Florida Highway Patrol)

Jacksonville, Fl — One person has died in a crash on the Buckman Bridge in Mandarin this morning.

Florida Highway Patrol says a Road Ranger was headed northbound toward Orange Park around 3:30 am when he hit a pickup truck, sending it into the St. Johns River.

The occupant, a 61-year-old man from Jacksonville, died. The crash happened about one-half mile onto the bridge, not at the top of the span.

LISTEN: FHP Sgt. Dylan Bryan on Jacksonville’s Morning News

The driver of the Road Ranger was not injured and was questioned by FHP, so far no charges have been filed. A crash report indicates the Road Ranger was a 23-year-old man from Jacksonville.

“We do believe at this point that it was just during the regular patrol operations that they do in our area.”, said FHP Sgt. Dylan Bryan.

A 2015 FDOT study of the Buckman Bridge led to several key takeaways about safety, the height of barrier walls, and more.

SEE THE STUDY FROM FDOT HERE

The study found only a small fraction of crashes where a vehicle went into the river. As a result of that study, FDOT began a bridge safety project that includes new overhead signage.


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