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Molino Man Dies When Truck Flips Into Jacks Branch
March 5, 2010
A Molino man was killed early this morning when he crashed his pickup truck through a guardrail and flipped into Jacks Branch near Cantonment.
The Florida Highway Patrol says William P. Merritt, 30, died in the accident about 3:05 a.m. Friday.
The accident happened on the bridge over Jacks Branch on Jacks Branch Road, just north of River Annex Road. The FHP says Merritt was northbound on Jacks Branch Road when he cross over the center line, ran off the road, struck a guardrail and flipped into the branch, about 25 feet below the bridge.
The vehicle landed upside down in the water with tires barely visible when the first rescuers arrived. Firefighters dove into the cold waters of the branch in order to reach Merritt who was trapped in the truck. They used a come-a-long and chains attached to a tree to flip the vehicle onto its side near the shore of the branch to reach him.
Merritt was pronounced dead at the scene. Emergency workers were unable to find anyone else in or near the vehicle.
On February 22, a female driver crashed through the guardrail on the same bridge and plummeted into the water below. She was rescued with minor injuries. [Read more...]
The Cantonment, Molino and Beulah stations of Escambia Fire Rescue, Escambia County EMS, the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, LifeFlight and the Florida Highway Patrol all responded to Friday morning’s accident.
Click here for a NorthEscambia.com photo gallery from the scene.
For Mr. Merritt’s obituary, click here.
Pictured above and below: William P. Merritt of Molino died when this pickup truck flipped into Jacks Branch at 3:05 a.m. Friday. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
82 Responses to “Molino Man Dies When Truck Flips Into Jacks Branch”
I JESSE DAVIDSON pulled the toolbox out of the water it was already open i did not pry it open i removed the collars and contacted his niece as soon as i got them. a friend of his stopped and i told him i pulled the toolbox out and asked if he could get ahold of his family he tried but didnt have any luck so fore those of you that make the comments about me being a sorry piece you must not know me because theres not a thieving bone in my body. i guess thats what ya get when you try to do the right thing.if any one has any thing bad they would like to say about what i done im all ears.i done what i felt was right.
every single time that i saw Willie he would come up to me and shake my hand and ask me how has it been going. and i don’t recall one time that i ever saw him without a big smile on his face. Willie your body is gone. but your spirit and memory will always live on.
Update, Willies collars have been found. He had let someone borrow them and they contacted his nephew Chris and is returning them, just like a Merritt always giving. Thank you everyone for all the of love and kindness. Dee Dee
-DeeDee.
I am glad that the tool box was found & returned. But whoever has taken the tracking collars must be a sorry piece. If they knew Willie, they would know that his dogs & tracking collars was a must have. To take something from someone right after they pass is a pretty low person. My Prayers are still with yalls family. The Merritt Family has always been there for mine, for our rough times. I hope whoever has taken Willie’s things returns them.
For Mr. Merritt’s obituary with service times, click here.
Willie even though you were my brother in law you were the BROTHER I never had. For all the laughs and good times we shared and all the jobs we hooked each other up with i will never forget you or your smile and laugh. I know without a doubt you are in heaven looking down on us and smiling!! Willie it is an honor to be considered your friend and family. With so many memories and stories to tell I will never forget you BROTHER. With lots of love i will miss you greatly!
To everyone, Willies toolbox has been secured by a family friend Bobby Hughes thank you Bobby, but when Bobby aquired it the tool box had been pried open and Willies things were gone, we don’t care about the tools but we would like to have his tracking collars back. Willie worked very hard for what he had and that was something he was proud of, please whom ever has them call his brother Ray at 698-8484 nothing will said, we just would like to have them, and thank you all again for all the wonderful things being left on this site it has lifted the families spirits to know how much he was loved.
Thank you for all the nice comments left im his neice and i can say that huntin and fishin may not be the same but he will still be right their with us in Blackwater runnin dogs……… I miss u ya big sweet giant and i love with all my heart buddy hope u kill a big rack buck up their and catch a big ole bass XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO
~Everyone continue to keep your thoughts and prayers for the Merritt family~
May God be there to comfort them in this time of need.
Willie was so much more than a friend to our family. We feel as though we’ve lost another child. God has a plan for all of us and Willie was certainly an angel on earth that touched and blessed many lives. We are all blessed to have had the privilage of knowing Willie and sharing his life with him. May God give his family and friends strength, peace and comfort at this time.
I spent a good bit of time hunting with Willie, and i don’t think hunting in Blackwater will ever be the same. I’ll never forget the time we killed that big six point on the Oak Tree Rd. I haven’t been able to quit thinking about this since it happened. I know I wasn’t as close to him as alot of you, but i always enjoyed hanging out with him, or just being around him. My thoughts and prayers go out to the family. I’ll be thinking about you on opening morning of turkey season. Maybe I can kill one for ya.
RIP Willie
Thank you all for all your kind words!.. This is his sister who loves him dearly. I will miss you my baby bubba! Kisses and hugs and lots of love!!
To all the Merritt family my heart is so heavy for your loss.
Last night I looked into the eyes of my daughter-in-law and my granddaughter and saw such loneliness and pain, and there was nothing I could do to take it away. To say I’m sorry doesn’t seem to be enough. It won’t take away the pain or fill the empty place in your hearts.
I hope you find some comfort reading the comments here, and knowing that Willie was so loved and respected in the community. Cherish the memories of your baby brother, laugh about all the fun times you had, and cry for yourselves, for you are the one who has to live without him.
The Lord blessed you with a loving family, and he will give you all strenght to lean on each other. God Bless, you are in my thoughts and prayers.
Willie…you will be missed my so many…this still doesn’t seem to be real….I can seem real…I can see you playin with Ayden and Julie…they sure love you…and eatin dinner with everybody…its just hard to realize I aint going to walk into Kevins and see you on the couch…you will truly be missed by so many….RIP Willie…and ROLL TIDE!!
Just some more people in Florala that really thought the world of Wllly. He always knew how to time when dinner would be ready. He would come on in fix a glass of tea and eat; that is unless he hadn’t already ate at Hippy’s with Bock and Rog. He was just like family to us. If he came by and we were in the yard he’d always stop in. He’d play ball with the boys and help me in the yard. My youngest son ask me this morning if Willy was in heaven and I told him there’s not a doubt in my mind He’s there looking down on us. We’re really gonna miss him. I was looking forward to turkey season because he was gonna call for me and Sean. He knew we were Auburn fans and sure would rub it in. After I got to know him I quit calling him Willy; i called him Ol Roll Tide. Me, Stacie, Sean, And J.D. are truly gonna miss him! Our prayers go out to his family . Thanks for being a friend to us.
I went to get my brothers things from the creek and the tool box and tracking collar has been takin and we cannot find it please whoever removed it from there please contact me or DeeDee and return it….you can leave msg on here My mother would love to have anything that was his returned….thanks
Editor’s note: You can email news@northescambia.com and we will pass your message along to Ray’s email address.
I did not know this fellow or his family—but I hope they will be able to reflect on all of the good times they had and of the good things he did. May peace be with you all.
My heart goes out to the family. I can’t comprehend the loss of a child, and hopefully, I won’t ever have to. When his neice, (Noel), came to pick her children up from my home, my heart broke for her. They were more like brother/sister than uncle/niece. “I THANK GOD FOR EVERY REMEMBERANCE OF YOU”, is the only thing that I can say on Willies’ behalf. He loved his family, ALL children, hunting, and Alabama football…Roll Tide! He will truly be missed by his “Alabama Family”, including Hacoda, Florala, and Lockhart. To sum it up, may God bless his family during this horrible time. My thoughts and prayers are with all of you.
First off im gonna say Willie it was a great time knowing you, you was one of the funnest people i have had the chance to know there wasnt a time we spent together that i was laughing or smiling you will be missed by so many i love and miss you may god bless!!!
Second thing is for all you people who are sayin he was drinkin and drivin and drivein 90 or 100 yall didnt know him like most of us did so i dont see how you can type some of the things yall are sayin it’s just ab retarded… Wille wasnt someone that acted a fool while drivin he hardly ever sped so ill just go ahead and say if you have something to put on here say something nice toward the family or to the friends who actually knew him insted of puttin dumb crap on here…
Im gonna miss you willy
your friend Hunter H
Gosh Willie, I will miss you sOoO much. Is this really real? The memories of you will be in my heart forever. You were a pure sole and I will always remember you with that smile on your face. I will miss your cooking too! Lauren learned from the best!!! I am still in shock about all this… I will do my best to stay strong and be there for momma and daddy.. I LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!
Big Will was one of a kind. It doesn’t matter how this wreck happened, what matters is we have all lost a great friend . He could light up a room like no other with that smile. Roll Tide Buddy. You will be greatly missed. prayers to your family.
Reading the comments that are in this forum can hurt his family in there time of need, everyone needs to pull together for his family and friends. Prayers are the best thing you can give this family at this time. I didn’t know this man, but it sounds that he was a good family man, and no one is to judge, everyone’s judgment will come. One of the comments “OMG” that’s who people need to turn to, this world is ugly. Roads, other drivers and etc…are not to blame, We are not to question why this happened, we’re not to question why the Lord took this young life. Please everyone pray for this family and stop the blame…The Lord has his plans for all…
FROM ALL OF US HERE IN FLORALA WE WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER HIM WE ALL HAVE TO STAY STRONG EVEN THO IT DOESNT SEEM RIGHT SEEMS LIKE JUST THE OTHER DAY WE WERE ALL TOGEHER LAUGHING AND HAVING FUN HE WILL BE MISSED ALOT HERE IN FLORALA, ALABAMA!!!!
willie was one of my great friends he was one of he sweetest and most funny guys i had ever met i will always remember all the good times spent together and i pray that his family pulls through strong and realizes that we may never know what caused this accident and why god took him so soon but always remember god knows what he is doing and there was a reason for all this just be strong and know he is watching down over us!!!
RIP BIG WILLIE!!!
LOVE YOU!!!
I didn’t know this man but from all the posts you can tell he was well loved. I imagine he will be a big hit over on the other side with our Jesus. God Bless his family and friends.
i didnt know him but my mom did and my friend saw it happen he was the one who called the police he said he did all he could but he couldnt get to him he told me to apologize to his family he feels very bad about it
Our thoughts and prayers are with the Merritt family
We thought of you with love today, which will be nothing new. We will think of you tomorrow,and all the days thru. We will think of you in silence, we will often speak your name. And we will always remember the big man,with a giant smile, a soft heart and a gentle soul… Forever in our Hearts…
Big Willie u will be missed dearly…..He always had a smile on his face and always lifted everyone up whenever he walked into a room…he was a wonderful man…my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone that care for him…friends and family. We will all miss u so much.
I can honestly say I’ve never met anyone quite like ‘Big’ Willie, and I will never get his sweet smile out of my head. Anytime he would walk in and ‘light up the room’ all I wanted was a huge hug. He could brighten any day, and I am sure going to miss those one of a kind hugs, kisses and smiles. We lost such a wonderful shining star today.
My thoughts and prayers are with the family and MANY, many friends.
was not best friends with the man but have hung out with him many times and considered him to be a good friend you couldnt ask for a better person all he ever did was smile and make people smile. R I P my friend you wil be missed by many and forgotten by none. To the family your in our thoughts.
This wasn’t even a mile from my house, I see way too many accidents like this throughout the year out here. I’m very sad that this time it was an uncle to a best friend of mine. My thoughts and prayers go out to one my favorite family’s.
Our prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. Merritt. I did not know him but it seems from all the posts that he was loved by many. May GOD comfort you all in this time of sorrow and loss.
I go by this bridge weekly and see nothing wrong with the area apart from all other bridges I cross. Not sure why so many accidents happen there except the curve may be a factor. Maybe that is where people freak when the cell phone signal is lost. Very sorry for this family.
I am so lucky to have known and been friends with Willie for so many years… He was an awesome person. Always smiling and definatly always put a smile on my face..
My sympathies to the man’s friends and family. He obviously had a lot of people who called him friend and thought highly of him. I never met him but can tell he will be greatly missed by those who knew him.
ole buddy u will b missed so much. u are one of my best friends and my 2 year old son loved u dearly. glad i got to eat supper with u wednesday night and have some of our many laughs. there wont ever b another hog cooking or when i see that gobbler in the field that u wanted to call for me that i dont think about u. u will always be in our hearts and u wont ever be forgotten. RIP brother love ya.
WILLIE, I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS HAS HAPPENED. YOU HAVE SPENT COUNTLESS HOURS AT OUR HOUSE HANGING OUT. YOU WILL BE GREATLY MISSED HONEY. WE ARE IN TOTAL SHOCK RIGHT NOW. OUR HEARTS AND PRAYERS GO OUT TO ALL OF THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS. I HOPE ALL THE MEMORIES WILL BRING COMFORT TO EVERYONE.
WE LOVE YOU DEARLY
willie we will miss you ! we are praying for your family&all your friends we love and miss u god bless
I’m gonna miss that smile…gonna miss you my friend.
Every person that had the privelage of meeting Willie is feeling this loss now. He was such a happy and caring person. My thoughts and prayers are with his family. RIP big guy we all miss you dearly.
Alabama Willie … you will be greatly missed . You were such a joy to be around.
You brought a smile to everyone. My thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends … We have truely lost one of god’s finest…..
O Willie! My heart is broken…I’m so sorry,you are going to be so missed…You are a very sweet and loving man….My prayers go out to your family….XOXO
Willie, willie, willie! I’m sure gonna miss your big goofy self! You were like my own brother. You stayed the night at my house many times, you used to fight with me & picked on me too. We even shared the same birthday! You sure knew how to make everyone laugh & you brought so much joy to everyone. Daddy feels like he lost his own son, & we all miss you soooooo much big guy! We all love you, & will see you again one day on the other side! I am gonna miss seeing you at the house buddy! I’m not even sure if this is all happening right now, but God has plan for you & I think it is something special!
There is so much that can go wrong while driving, drinking or not, speeding or not. It’s just sad that such a wonderful person is gone. We will miss him deeply. He was a treasure to have in our lives. Thinking of his family & sending prayers their way.
Such a great guy, didnt know him very well but was still always laughing and smiling when I called him “Brother”. Prayers with this town as I bet anyone that came in contact with Willie is feeling the pain of loss of a friend!
Thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers, as for those looking for blame accidents will happen we area all human, I will miss you Willie you had the biggest goofy smile ever and when you smiled your eyes would squinch all up, we love you.. I am still not sure that you are gone. Love ya big guy, Dee Dee
I agree with who said that Willie lit up a room when he came into it. He definatly did that. There is nothing bad that can be said about him, he was one of the nicest guys that i have ever known. We have all lost a great friend. My prayers go out to his family.
Those of us that know Willie know him well. He was an awesome person with a huge heart. He will always be remembered by us. The world needs more people like Willie. I had the honor of working side by side with willie many times here at ECUA. He was aa great coworker and a great freind.
For those of you that choose to judge, try taking a long look at yourself first. Now is not the time to place blame. Its the time to look back and remember the life of Big Country. RIP Willie. We will miss you. The guys from region 3. ECUA
rip willie. we will miss you soooo much! thanks for always making me smile when your around! i guess we cant try and find the card game they boycotted lol. ill never play that game again and not think about you. love u! just for you ill say this, roll tide!
PoOr WiLlIe He LiVes By Me AlWaYs So NiCe!!
we will miss you lil willie best guy you could ever meet R.I.P buddy luv u
Way too soon for a wonderful person and friend. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family.. great people. You will be greatly missed Willie RIP.
Our prayers go out to the family and friends. I am really sorry for your loss. He was a nice person.
I do wish everyone would remember the family will be reading this forum and to please be sensitive when leaving your comments..
RIP Willie. I will always cherish the good times we had together. You will be missed dearly. Until we meet again big guy.
Willie…we will miss your smile..your joy in life…and your friendship!!! Rest in peace honey….you will be in our hearts…..
My oldest went to high school with this young man.
Again, my prayers and thoughts are with the family and friends.
Drivers just need to slow down and to careful no matter what road you are on day or night.
willie was an amazing person. everyone was his friend. he cared about so many. when he walked into the room everyones spirits would lift up! for you people judging, find something better to do, because its not your job! let the big man above do it. willie was a very respectable human being! we are all going to miss him dearly! i have known willie since the 2nd grade…. many memories …..wont be forgotten!! we love you willie!
My prayer’s are with the family and friends. We don’t know what happened, could’ve been anything. I just wonder would people say the same thing’s if it had happened to someone in there family or one of there close friends. He is in a better place now. We will miss him greatly.
“Big” Willie my prayers are with the family and other dear friends. He will be greatly missed by all that know him. All these people that say that they drive this road and never have a problem well there idiots. I have driven down this road all my life, several times i’ve had to dodge people pulling out of river anex because you can’t see for the curves. It is just a bad spot. There is no telling what happened but these people that think they know everything they sure do not. They are not God and only he knows. I love you bro and miss ya.
I agree, we should focus on praying for the family of this loved one. People can be so cruel to start making remarks, when they don’t even know what happened unless they were there. He may have jus gotton off from work for all we know. Please remember his loved ones read wat is posted. Wat is this world coming to when people have to be so cruel instead of supportive to the family. It is jus by the grace of God it was not one of our family members, but if it was how would you want people to respond.
Where does it say that I assumed anything?
I asked a question!
I asked what if it was really the roads fault.
I personnally don’t know this road.
I wondered thats all.
This man died and I didn’t say a word about him being drunk or on drugs
or speeding did I?
willie was a really good friend of mine i we played tee ball and base ball together we even went to school together.willie was one of the nices people you could ever meet and the world has lost a really great person today ;-(
Has anyone took into thought that maybe this wreck happened, not because of his speed, but maybe someone else was speeding or driving carelessly and he had to swirve to avoid it. There are speeders everywhere and you just react sometimes. So maybe jumping to conclusions about him, maybe the wrong thing to do. There are so many reasons this wreck could have happened. Just a thought.
What an amazing guy you are! You will be missed by so many. I’m glad that we hung out last weekend. I never thought it would have been the last time I would see your face. You’re in a better place now…..we will see you on the other side.
Wow, I’m sick to my stomach as I type this. This guy was one of the nicest people you could ever know. He would do everything for anybody. Buddy I pray your in a better place right now, and I hope your family and friends can find some comfort during these hard times.
The loss of a life and now a family filled with pain of a loved one gone way to soon.
Praying for the family.
GOD… WELCOME THIS GENTLE GIANT !!!!! FATHER… COMFORT THE FAMILY IN ONLY THE WAY THAT YOU CAN.
” AMEN “
I hate that people jump to conclusions about stuff like this. You have no idea what caused this accident.
He was far from a wreckless person and I highly doubt speeding played a factor in this horrible tragedy.
I will miss him so much. And I pray for the rest of our friends and his family. He was a amazing person and I know he will be truelly missed everyday.
RIP buddy-Roll Tide!!
No one knows what caused this, I see people jumping to conclusions already! It will come out from the FHP on their conclusion, but, noone but the good Lord knows exactly what happened.
My heart goes out to this man’s family. Know my prayers are with you all!
I read this article once this morning, an just realized this is one of my families good friends! He is always at my house. Please keep his family & friends in your prayers!
And please don’t jump to conclusions & make assumptions until they release a cause of the accident!
I don’t understand why people have to get on here and just talk about bad things, or what caused it. The roads, speed, falling asleep, or whatever it might be. The fact is someone lost their life, which was a very good friend of mine. Please just pay your respects and quit trying to be the judge of how it happend it does not matter. RIP im going to miss you so much, thaughts and prayers go out to family and friends
I have driven this road over 33 years. There is nothing wrong with the road. Speeding plus not paying attention to your driving is the cause of these two accidents.
My thoughts and prayers to his family. A young life is gone………
Speed limits have a purpose…… So sorry for the family!!!
There are alot of factors that it could be to have caused this crash…
Heartattack
Alcohol
Dodging something in the road
we will probably never know, but it is so sad. that a life was lost here…
OMG! While reading this, I asked myself didn’t a lady just run off of this same bridge… This is so terrible, I am so sorry to this mans family; my heart goes out to you. Two wrecks on the same bridge within a week or so, sounds like something might be wrong with that bridge or something, needs to be looked into…
bad bad bad would you ask the same question if it was someone you loved. I know this man and pray for his family. He had a wonderful soul and will be greatly missed. And if the rest of yu could pay respect and not turn this young mans death into your political argument,
I drive across this bridge nearly every day. The problem here is not with the road or bridge. it is with people going 90 to 100 mph down this road. Especially late at night, they drive not just fast, but way insane crazy fast!!!! 60mph is great, 70mph maybe, but 90 and 100 is what I see lots of people doing when they cross this bridge. I have been wondering when this was going to happen for a long time. Pickup trucks and SUVs are not race cars.
My prayers go out to the family.
I don’t know if the roads had anything to do with either of the two wrecks at this bridge or not, but I agree that the roads are too narrow and have way too many patches and dips/sunken in places on them. I wrote a letter to my county commissioner about this road and Hwy 99 and didn’t even get a response from him.
Mr. “Oversight”, a person died in an apparent accident, and without a clue about what caused it, you immediately blame the Road Department and demand help from the government. You probably blame George Bush. I bet you are an Obama fan, as well. How sad…
There’s nothing wrong with the road.
well this wreck was at 3:10 am
is it the roads fault? do you know?
JUST ASKING
Hmmm…. Two crashes at the same location with less than two weeks in between sounds like it is time for the road department to act – NOW! What is the county going to do about this and when?