Driver hits tow-truck driver and 19-year-old off Blanding Boulevard, killing both

Jacksonville, Fla. — UPDATE 5/31:

Action News Jax has learned that Carlos Betancourt, the tow-truck driver who was fatally injured in this crash, was a two-time cancer survivor.

His family has set up a GoFundMe to pay for his funeral costs. Click here to donate.

UPDATE 5/30:

Friends and family are mourning the death of 30-year-old Carlos Betancourt.

Family confirmed with Action News Jax that Betancourt was the tow-truck driver killed in an early Sunday morning crash on the on-ramp of I-295 north of Blanding Boulevard.

Former coworkers say the 30-year-old was someone who would help his friends during the most difficult times. Family who spoke with Action News Jax off-camera said he was an amazing person.

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“I didn’t think it was true. I thought it was a joke and someone was just messing around... I couldn’t believe it,” Mike Register said.

Register says he was a close friend of Betancourt, working with him in the towing industry.

Florida Highway Patrol said around 2:44 on Sunday morning, a tow-truck driver, whom Action News Jax has confirmed with family is Betancourt, was helping a 19-year-old man who was broken down on the on-ramp of I-295 north of Blanding Boulevard.

Register says the two of them shared a close friendship since 2016.

“It was like two kids put together without supervision; he would run up to my truck, jump into my truck, take the keys out of my truck and run back to his truck,” Register said. “He would be inside, I would take window chalk and write on his windows; it was like two kids without supervision is all it was; we just horse-played all the time.”

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FHP report says a 23-year-old woman in an SUV crashed into Betancourt and the driver. Betancourt died at the scene, and the 19-year-old was taken to the hospital where he later died.

The report from FHP says Betancourt was partially blocking the left travel lane. Register is calling for drivers to be aware of Florida’s Move Over Law, which requires drivers to move over a lane for emergency vehicles.

“You might be in a hurry, you might be running late for something, but it’s 5 seconds, 5 seconds more to slow down, move over,” Register said. “If you can’t move over, go slower than what you’re going, be aware of what’s going on. We might trip, we might land in the road; you don’t know, just slow down.”

FHP’s report says the driver of the SUV was not injured in the crash. Register tells Action News Jax that Betancourt was the type of person to change your mood instantly, and he will be missed.

ORIGINAL STORY:

Two people were killed in a crash early Sunday after an SUV collided with a tow truck driver and teenage pedestrian, according to Florida Highway Patrol.

FHP said at approximately 2:44 a.m. Sunday, the 30-year-old tow truck driver was assisting a 19-year-old driver who had broken down on the on-ramp of I-295, north of Blanding Boulevard.

While the men stood outside their vehicles, a 23-year-old female in an SUV collided with the pair. The tow truck driver died at the scene. The 19-year-old was taken to the hospital where he later died.

The tow truck was was partially blocking the left travel lane, according to the report.

FHP says the driver of the SUV was not injured in the crash.

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