Two Die in Santa Rosa County Car vs Motorcycle Crash

The Florida Highway Patrol released a statement earlier on Sunday, June 17th, about an incident that took place on Saturday, June 16th, in Santa Rosa County that resulted in the deaths of two motorists who were traveling down County Road 184, which is also known as Quintette Road.  While the incident is still under investigation, and while some of the facts—such as certain identities—have been withheld pending the approval of the deceased’s next of kin, the current report does contain the most pertinent of details relating to the crash and provides us with a fairly complete picture of the events of the collision.

It was shortly after 11:30 in the evening that a 2011 Dodge Charger was driving down the western lanes of County Road 184.  The identity of the person inside of the Charger is unknown, but it does seem as though something happened to them to cause them to suddenly lose control of their vehicle.  The nature of this event is not clear, and it could be that they swerved to avoid striking an animal or that they suffered from a medical emergency that caused them to be unable to further pilot their vehicle.

In this moment, the driver of the dodge abruptly shifted from the western lanes of County Road 184 and entered the eastern lanes of the same road, now traveling in the wrong direction, directly towards oncoming traffic.

At the same time, a 34-year-old resident of Milton was riding a 2018 Harley Davidson Motorcycle down County Road 184’s eastern lanes.  At the time that the Dodge swerved out of the western lanes, the motorcycle was in the same area, meaning that the two vehicles were driving directly towards one another with virtually no time for either driver to do anything about it.

The force of the collision caused the 34-year-old motorcyclist to be thrown from his bike and onto the hard shoulder of the street.  The injuries he sustained in this moment were fatal, and emergency response crews declared him dead at the scene.  After it struck the motorcycle, the Dodge careened off of the road and crashed into a tree.  Either before or after the collision with the tree the Dodge caught fire.  Members of the Florida Highway Patrol indicated that the driver of the Dodge was also declared dead at the scene of the crash.

James O. Cunningham

Since 1977, personal injury lawyer James Cunningham has provided effective legal advocacy to people who are injured through the negligent actions of another person or entity throughout the Central Florida area. He fights to obtain recoveries for his clients’ physical and emotional pain and suffering and pursues his clients’ personal injury cases with a commitment to excellence and impeccable preparation.