A 76-year-old man lost his life late Tuesday night (Sept. 23) in a head-on collision on U.S. 1 south of Seminole Woods in Palm Coast. He is the third person killed in a crash on Flagler County roads in the last four days.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the man was driving a sedan south. But he was “traveling the wrong way in the northbound lanes of US Highway 1 just south of Seminole Woods Boulevard,” the FHP report states.
A 63-year-old Bunnell man was driving a sedan north on U.S. 1. The 76-year-old’s vehicle struck the 61-year-old’s car head-on, and a third car, an SUV driven by a 41-year-old Palm Coast man, struck the 61-year-old’s sedan as a result.
The crash was reported to Flagler County 911 at 11:55 p.m. One of the vehicles caught fire. Within minutes, a Flagler County Sheriff’s deputy reported that the 76-year-old driver had not survived. He was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Firefighters conducted an extrication of the 63-year-old, who suffered serious injuries. The 41-year-old man was not injured, according to FHP.
Last Saturday morning (Sept. 20) a 71-year-old woman was killed in a head-on collision on State Road 11, south of Bunnell, after she crossed the yellow line. Monday night (Sept. 22), an 18-year-old man thrown from his motorcycle in a collision with a deer on State Road 100 near Bunnell was killed when an oncoming car struck him.
Tuesday’s crash resulted in the 15th fatality on Flagler County roads so far this year, two more than in all of 2024.
In an unrelated incident in Nassau County, the Florida Highway Patrol reported today that a man is in custody following what FHP is describing as a road-rage shooting on I-95, not far from the Georgia border, involving a tractor-trailer and a box truck. Both vehicles were traveling north when for an unknown reason, the tractor-trailer driver pulled up close to the box truck and started firing a gun in the driver’s direction. The driver was not hurt. The suspect was detained shortly after the incident in Georgia and later arrested for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The investigation is ongoing. FHP is asking anyone who has information on the incident to contact the investigators at 904/301-3700.
tulip says
I think the authorities should take a look at that area and try to figure out why this is happening so often and then do a big sign to warn the driver that he is about to enter the wrong way
JimboXYZ says
Getting to the point that one can’t even drive in the middle of the night anymore to avoid gridlock traffic of the daylight peak hours of traffic even. There’s always that one motorist that can’t seem to grasp the concept of parallel lanes going in opposite directions & the importance of maintaining their lane to avoid & prevent catastrophic head on collisions. When it’s not a fellow motorist, it’s a deer/pig or other other animal.
NJ says
Another reason WHY Palm Coast needs a Public Transportation System-NOW! Also, BEWARE all my fellow motorcycle drivers, DEATH is on the Palm Coast Highways because Too Many Older Drivers do NOT see you until they run you over!!
Atwp says
Are these people too old to drive? Another sad situation. These accidents are happening too fast.
Laurel says
Since I am not there right now, I cannot remember whether the signs I’m thinking of are in St. Johns County, or Flagler Country. Regardless, along US 1 (being Federal Highway), there are a batch of bright red signs, in the median, all facing the traffic, that state “Wrong Way.” I don’t know what they were thinking when they placed those signs! Since I’m familiar with the area, I know I’m going in the right direction. Someone who is not familiar with the area, could easily get confused. To explain it better, if you are traveling southbound, and you are in the left lane, you are bombarded with a series of signs in the median that say “Wrong Way.” Unbelievably bad placement!
The Federal Government should worry more about stuff like that rather than colored chalk on the road.
Larry says
At night, the wrong way driver probably thought he was turning onto a 2 lane road and didn’t realize he was driving the wrong way. This happens at night in unlit sections when their is a large grass median hiding the other side of the road. Drivers turning in the dark don’t realize they are making a left turn onto a divided highway because they cannot see the portion of the road on the other side of the grass median when it’s dark outside.
To avoid this happening – – there needs to be well lit areas with reflective signs at all intersections where drivers make left turns onto US-1. This happens at night generally, and areas without street lights, because drivers don’t realize it’s a divided highway, especially when it’s a driver that doesn’t use that road very often.
Improved roadway design is needed to save lives.
PeachesMcGee says
@NJ
“Another reason WHY Palm Coast needs a Public Transportation System-NOW!”
FYI, Palm Coast does have public transportation.
Atwp says
Laurel, I saw those signs and thought what is wrong. I was going south and said I’m surprised to see the sign’s saying wrong way. Why?
JimboXYZ says
“Another reason WHY Palm Coast needs a Public Transportation System-NOW! Also, BEWARE all my fellow motorcycle drivers, DEATH is on the Palm Coast Highways because Too Many Older Drivers do NOT see you until they run you over!!”
NJ, with all due respect ? The last 3 motorcycle fatalities or accidents have been motorcyclists caused events. The 1st was the motorcyclist that hit the old man’s vehicle that turned into a hit & run. The motorcyclist chose to take the lane where the old man had right of way for maintaining his lane. Had that man stopped, chances are he’s cleared and the motorcyclist is told their improper lane change was the cause of their accident. And the motorcyclists as a group were bar hopping for their group ride during daylight hours.
Then there was the A1A incident where the motorcyclist killed himself hitting the center concrete curbing late at night, coming from a bar. Another self inflicted crash ?
And the trilogy of recent motorcycle accidents written up in this story. This happened at +/- 9.:46 M, long after any public transportation would be operating.
“Monday night (Sept. 22), an 18-year-old man thrown from his motorcycle in a collision with a deer on State Road 100 near Bunnell was killed when an oncoming car struck him.”
https://flaglerlive.com/motorcyclist-deersr100/
Let’s not give the City of Palm Coast another reason to add a service that there is zero money in the coffers to fund ? And maybe motorcyclists need to own that they are more often than not their own worst enemies on the roadways.
I suspect with this incident the other vehicle didn’t see the headlights of a car in a head on collision on their side of the road. Was it on a longer turn in the road, the relatively blind curve that nobody could see. Because if it was a long straight away, Would the motorist on the correct side of the road not be paying attention enough to see that oncoming vehicle. & if they were blinded by the head lights, why would they continue to insist on maintaining their right of way ? Accident avoidance 101, avoid a head on collision at any option available, even if means you drive off into the grassy areas to either sides of the road or even down the median separating lanes. I may not like the fact the motorist was on my side of the road, that I had to drive off the road, but at least I’d still be alive for it. And I certainly would call the police & inform them of a wrong way driver. Someone else may not be as fortunate to survive an encounter. I have FCSO in my smartphone, & if I’m on a highway, *FHP is a easy to remember, just as 911 would be. any of these can be called for reporting aggressive driving/road rage incidents as well.
Tony says
FCSO is too busy running radar on I95 to bother with local streets in Palm Coast. When was the last time you saw one of them on a stop? It amazes me that you never see them patrolling but when there is a minor accident five or six will be at the scene.
PeachesMcGee says
It’s a well-known fact that Flagler sheriff’s office does not do any targeted traffic enforcement in the city of Palm Coast.
Canary says
When was the last time I’ve seen FCSO on a stop? Practically every time I drive through the school zone by our house and it’s active, that’s when. They are there practically every day.
As for Palm Coast having a public transportation system…no, it absolutely doesn’t. It has a system that is open by application only to certain people who meet certain qualifications to use only for certain uses during certain hours. That is by no stretch of the imagination anything that qualifies as being described as “public transportation”. Life in this city is and will continue to be vehicle dependent until that changes.