Fatal Bradford County crash: Loss of 2 men in head-on collision 'tragic'

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The community is grieving the loss of two men killed in a head-on crash Thursday evening in Bradford County.

Troopers said Chad Raulerson, 26, was killed when Raymond Austin crossed the center line on County Road 18 near Southeast 38th Avenue.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the two trucks hit head-on, and investigators are still trying to figure out what led Austin to leave his lane.

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Friday, Action News Jax caught up with one of Raulerson’s closest friends, Kenneth Davis, who says the avid hunter and fisherman was more like a brother.

“All around, you couldn't find a really, better person than him,” Davis said.  “He's probably up there sitting in his tree stand hunting or out fishing or something.”

Davis has been using laughter to hold back tears.

“I'm still in the process of getting it all through my head that he's actually gone,” Davis said.

To him, Raulerson wasn’t just a hunting and fishing buddy.

“I would say he was like a brother to me, but he was a little bit more than that, because he was there when my daughter was born, and everything else,” Davis said.  “He was actually my daughter's godfather.”

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Davis said the loss of the two men in the crash is tragic.

“It's two people that won't be there anymore,” Davis said.  “It’s tragic with everything.”

Davis wants to get a fishing tournament together to raise money for Raulerson’s family.

“It's going to be a lot different fishing without somebody like him in the boat with me,” Davis said.