I-10 Wreck Claims Life Of Escambia County Woman

February 11, 2012

One person was killed in a wreck Friday night on I-10 near the Pine Forest Road exit –  one of three wrecks over a three mile stretch of interstate.

In the first accident about 7:15 p.m., the Florida Highway Patrol said 59-year old Thomas Herbert Crowley, Jr. was traveling east on I-10 between Pine Forest Road  and Highway 29 in a semi-truck when he moved into the lane occupied by a Honda Civic driven by Nicole Anne Frey, 24.

Frey’s Honda  Civic then cross the median and hit a 2006 Nissan Altima driven by Shannon Lacey Morgan, 23. Morgan and passenger Bobby Joe Mason, 21, both of Calhoun City, MS, were seriously injured and transported to West Florida Hospital.

Frey was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital where she passed away at 9:06 p.m.

Charges against Crowley are pending the FHP’s investigation.

The second accident involved an overturned pickup in the I-10 median near the Highway 29 exit, while the third involved a car into a wooded area also near the Highway 29 exit. Details on those crashes, including the names of those involved, have not yet been released.  The accidents remain under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol.

Comments

16 Responses to “I-10 Wreck Claims Life Of Escambia County Woman”

  1. trisha pooley on November 30th, 2012 8:43 pm

    nicole, its been 11 months since you were taken from us. i miss you so much . i know you are watching over raine and us all. i will come visit your grave soon but its hard. i love you my sweet friend.

  2. sue ballard on February 13th, 2012 11:34 am

    Nicole was sweet girl. My heart goes out to the family.

  3. Jane on February 12th, 2012 8:15 am

    Maybe if some of these people who follow too closely would just back off a bit there would be fewer accidents. Sometimes I think they just figure if they tailgate you you will speed up, but they don’t consider that there is someone in front of you going slow or stopping or turning.

  4. Sue Ballard on February 12th, 2012 7:33 am

    Nicole was not at fault. The driver said he never saw her. Nicole will be missed.

  5. William on February 11th, 2012 9:40 pm

    >>>PNJ is reporting now that she was in the right lane, went to change lanes and hit the right side of the semi

    That is incorrect, according to the Florida Highway Patrol report. As our story above says, the semi moved into her lane and hit her car.

  6. Suzi Beck on February 11th, 2012 9:36 pm

    PNJ is reporting now that she was in the right lane, went to change lanes and hit the right side of the semi then spun into the median and other traffic. This is so unfortunate.

  7. Suzi Beck on February 11th, 2012 1:30 pm

    Another problem with that area is that the speed limit drops right at Hwy 29 for a good reason but most do not even recognize it. Going east on I 10, the speed limit changes just before the Hwy 29 overpass to 55 mph.. I live off of Pine forest and when returning home going west, the speed limit doesn’t increase until affter you pass over Hwy 29 and start around the curve towrds Pine Forest, then it goes back up to 70 mph. The entrance ramps at Hwy 29 are so dangerous and with people who aren’t familiar with them, it’s very dangerous whether you’re trying to merge on or if you’re already up on I10. There seems to be a lot of “as a matter of fact, I DO own the road” mentality. Very unfortunate. My daughter got rear ended by a semi at the Hwy 29 overpass and she was already up on I10 after entering at Pine Forest but had a mechanical failure and her car filled with smoke. A semi rear ended her and said she was at fault yet he was in the left lane and she was in the right. Go figure… Thoughts and prayers to the families involved in these most recent accidents.

  8. D on February 11th, 2012 11:42 am

    this stretch of road scares me every morning on my way to work! People are just trying to get around everyone no matter what!

  9. PSUEarl on February 11th, 2012 11:15 am

    Moli, it doesn’t just end on the highway it ends with the end of a bridge wall and guardrail… and if you hit that it will propel your car into the traffic or just kill you on the end of the concrete bridge… That’s not to mention when that ramp gets wet in rain conditions, that it gets very slick and is very sharp it will turn your car around in a second…

    By far the most dangerous ramp/merge I have seen in my 49 years, which includes 13 years in the navy travelling around the world and US…

  10. me on February 11th, 2012 9:53 am

    And to Scott,
    The reason people are scared to slow down too much to yield when getting on, is that they are afraid of the fool right on their bumper also trying to merge on will hit them in the rear…..I have found the most favorable way to get on is when I am directly behind an 18 wheeler and he is merging on – I stick as close as I can to him and still be safe, because everyone moves over for him.

  11. me on February 11th, 2012 9:47 am

    I totally agree with Moli. Exiting Hwy. 29 South and TRYING to merge on to I-10 East is just crazy and extremely dangerous. No matter what time of day, it is always scary. People traveling East on I-10 (especially those not from our area) do not realize that there are cars trying to merge in from THEIR LEFT side – which to me is totally poor designing by DOT. Like she said there is really on descent merge lane and there are no sighs that warn I-10 traffic that there are people trying to merge into their “Passing” lane. And you can forget the 18 wheelers moving over, especially the ones that are traveling 80-90 mile per hour in a 55 zone. You literally take your life in your own hands…..I have pretty much quit getting on there, I either drive out of the way to get on at Pine Forest which has a NORMAL merge or if I am going towards town, I just go down 29 all the way. Thanks again William for way more details than PNJ – don’t even know why they bother to write some reports at all. My prayers to all families involved in these accidents.

  12. scott on February 11th, 2012 9:10 am

    When entering any interstate highway, you must yeild to traffic already on the interstate.

    When entering I-10 from the south-bound on-ramp of U.S. 29, I have seen so many drivers drive directly into the east-bound I-10 traffic. I tell my wife every morning that “this is an accident waiting to happen” because the people getting on the interstate do not yeild the right of way to to traffic already in the roadway.

  13. Moli on February 11th, 2012 7:36 am

    I can speak for 29/I-10 from an experience I had. Getting onto I-10 from the South bound exit of 29–There is no exceleration lane to speak of getting onto I-10, it just stops kinda onto I-10 and if your new around here and never used it before you don’t realize it and the out come could be deadly. People don’t move over or can’t depending on how busy it is. I also know someone who almost got hit and killed in that very place for exactly that reason. We do not go that way any more.

  14. Native 1950 on February 11th, 2012 7:18 am

    Thanks William for being so much more thorough on your reports than we can ever get from the PNJ. They only stated one wreck with a fatality. You always give us so much more info. Prayers to the families of all those involved…

  15. Raven Hysell on February 11th, 2012 4:34 am

    I love u nicole frey….. rip baby girl…. we all miss u terribly much!!!!!

  16. just wondering on February 11th, 2012 4:23 am

    What is it about that stretch of interstate between Hwy 29 and Pine Forest Road exit that crazy things go one?You hear of wrecks there all the time and multiply wrecks to boot. I have had a bit of bad luck myself through there.