UPDATE - Fatal accidents mar holiday weekend

Fatal accidents mar holiday weekend

Glen St. Mary man, Callahan woman killed in separate accidents

MACCLENNY, FL - Just as the Memorial Day weekend began a Glen St. Mary man was killed in a head-on collision on Interstate 10 just east of SR 228 in Baker County. James Ellis Lane, 52 died Friday afternoon after his pickup truck was hit by another vehicle about 2:30 p.m.

Arielle C. Widgeon, 19, of Jacksonville was driving eastbound on I-10 when her vehicle left the roadway, crossed the center median and hit Lane head-on before overturning and coming to rest on the north shoulder of the road. Lane was pronounced dead at the scene. Widgeon suffered minor injuries.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol the accident was not alcohol-related and it was not noted if either driver were wearing seatbelts. The investigation is continuing.

A Callahan woman was the victim of an automobile crash Saturday night on Otis Road in Duval County. Nina D. Thomas, 56, was a passenger in a car driven by Nathan L. Thomas, 60.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol, Thomas' car was northbound on Otis Road around 7:00 p.m. when the driver apparently lost control veering first to the right and onto the east shoulder, then back across the road before spinning into a southbound vehicle.

The occupants of the other car were not seriously injured. Nathan Thomas was transported to Shands Jacksonville in critical condition. Both of the Thomas’ were wearing seatbelts.

Charges are pending the complete investigation.

Another Nassau County resident is dead after an early Monday morning crash around 4:00 a.m. on SR 200 near Callahan. John Douglas Kilgore, Jr., 21, was traveling eastbound when he tried to pass another vehicle and hit a westbound tractor-trailer semi head-on. Kilgore was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected.

The driver of the semi, Joseph W. Allbritton, 32, of Nahunta, Georgia was not injured. The road between Griffin Road and U.S. 1 was closed for several hours due to the accident.

FHP will be out in force during the 96-hour Memorial Day holiday weekend participating in three traffic enforcement operations.

Troopers will participate in Operation CARE, a Combined Accident Reduction Effort, involving all 50 state police and highway patrol organizations (May 23-26); All-American Buckle Up Week (May 19-26) and the Click It or Ticket campaign (May 19-June 1).

The FHP holiday patrol period runs through midnight Monday.