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Funeral Procession Leads To Highway 29 Rollover Crash
February 6, 2018
Click for a follow-up to this story: Stopping For Funerals Is Southern Tradition, But What Does The Law Say?
Two people were injured in a traffic crash on Highway 29 near Success Road early Tuesday afternoon caused by a driver stopped for a funeral procession.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 27-year old Breanna Williams of Frisco City, AL, stopped her 2005 Chevrolet Impala in a southbound lane of Highway 29 for northbound funeral procession. The driver of a 2008 GMC Envoy, 66-year old June Cox Richards of Molino, topped a hill and did not see the stopped Impala. Richards rear-ended the Impala before her SUV overturned in the southbound lanes of Highway 29. The Impala came to rest in the median.
Richards was transported to Sacred Heart Hospital in Pensacola in serious condition, and Williams was transported to Sacred Heart with minor injuries.
Richards was cited by the FHP for careless driving, and Williams was cited for impeding traffic.
Southbound Highway 29 was closed over an hour due to the wreck.
The Cantonment and Molino Stations of Escambia Fire Rescue responded to the crash, which remains under investigation by the Florida Highway Patrol. Further details have not been released.
NorthEscambia.com photos by Kristi Barbour, click to enlarge.
Comments
43 Responses to “Funeral Procession Leads To Highway 29 Rollover Crash”
I believe similar just happened again on the same stretch of road on Saturday March 31,2018. There was a funeral procession heading north at about 30mph on I-29 from just north of Pensacola to Flomation (during 30 mile stretch of divided highway normally 70mph both northbound lanes not able to get above about 30-35 miles per hour)
The funeral service had a vehicle in passing lane with a bubble gum machine old style rotating light on its roof holding back traffic for miles. When I would crest a hill I could see the front of the procession about a mile ahead of me with no traffic ahead of it and traffic backed up behind me more than the two miles I could see back.
At one point I had just mentioned to the wife I didn’t think it seemed safe to be going 30 mph on the interstate that normally is 70 mph (as well as south bound cars stopping in the road and not pulling over to side) and it was conditions likely to cause an accident then shortly after that we passed a bad accident in the southbound meridian that had just happened (people were pulling over to run to the accident, and the dust literally hadn’t settled yet) where a car appeared to have been run over by a large 4X4 style vehicle, the roof and windshield appeared to have been collapsed and looked like there may have been another car somehow involved in the accident.
I understand respect for the dead but didn’t understand why for such a long stretch on a divided interstate the funeral procession couldn’t at least go and maintain the legal Minimum speed limit (which is 45 mph in most states, thought they still had to follow the law?), Also if it is a 65-70 mph interstate why must the procession go 30 mph and block both lanes for a 30 mile stretch of road. It took me an hour to go 30 miles (ironically passing several cemeteries) and I still had over 750 miles to drive before I reached my destination.
I hope everyone was okay from the March 31, 2018 accident, That is what I was looking up when I found this post.
She should have pulled off the road and the other shouldn’t have been going that fast
Click for a follow-up to this story: Stopping For Funerals Is Southern Tradition, But What Does The Law Say?
Some of you are mistaken. The Sheriff does not do funeral escorts for his own. Recently a young, Sheriff Sgt. passed after a battle with cancer. The PPD and FHP escorted from the chapel in Gonzales to Scenic Hwy. Sure there were hundreds of Sheriffs vehicles in the procession, but they did not control intersections. It was a disgrace. Morgan is a disgrace. People will die if this practice continues. Tell him and your commissioners how you feel.
Richard’s probably shouldn’t have been cited but that’s just my opinion, unless they was able to determine she was speeding or something. Can anyone else shed any light on that?
It’s a highway not a parking lot, not everyone is able to stop and pay respect, if you do want to, find a safe place to pull over….remember, it’s not required by law to pull over for a funeral procession, it is a tradition, there is a difference. I pray everyone recovers well.
I will never stop for another funeral procession again, it is too dangerous and I do not want a ticket. from now on I will honor live people and not wait till they are dead and don’t know it
New this would happen not if but when we need the escort s again before some one dies !!!!
…simple people…when you stop anytime or anywhere for whatever the reason, pull off the traffic lanes onto the right shoulder , and then proceed when safe to do so…
Stopping for a funeral procession on a divided hwy while going the opposite direction…… is to show respect….and would not be a problem if the drivers would pull off the road and not block the lanes.
We @ Odom Pilot Escort cannot stress enough if you are going to stop for a funeral procession please safely pull off the road and put your hazards on. We are deeply saddened that this accident happened today as we were escorting this funeral. We are not allowed to run blue lights as we are not police officers we do however have Amber and purple lights on all of our vehicles. Our number one priority is to keep everyone safe. Our prayers go out to all the families involved.
I mean what the difference in stopping in the road to let the ambulance or the fire department go by you still have to stop in the road if your driven you have to always be alert but we do need the police escort back before someone is killed
I mean whats the difference if you stop to let the ambulance or fire truck go by i see people stop all the time in the road to let them pass you just have to be alert at all times when driven thats all it is to it but we do need the police escort back for the funerals before someone loose ther life
It is my understanding that we do not stop on the opposite side of a divided highway for a funeral procession. Am I reading the wrong drivers ed manual?
I saw this accident in my rearview mirror i was horrified.I stopped for the funeral also but I pulled to the side of the road .she was not the only one to stop .it is a decided hwy but I always stop out of respect.I also know that you can get hit from behind for it so never stop on a hill and pull to the side to be safe.God bless i hope everyone will be ok.I don’t want to see anything like that again it is still in my mind i will never forget it .it will make my even more cautious.
@ trocarman the Sheriff stopped ECSD from escorting funeral unless it’s a member of the sheriff’s department.
As a Southerner, I am well aware of this “tradition”, not law, of PULLING OVER when a funeral passes. It is not appropriate to do this on a divided four-lane highway. Would you do this on an Interstate? (I actually have seen this.) I have seen people stop on a divided four-lane for a procession of corvettes because they thought it might be a funeral. Many of the people who will expend lots of effort to stop and endanger others near a funeral will not pull off the road (four lanes included) when an emergency vehicle approaches from the rear, which IS the law.
Some states require members of the funeral procession to have signs or flags on their cars to inform others not to break into the procession and let it pass through an intersection. Perhaps Florida needs this and current education for drivers.
Unfortunately nothing matters anymore. I see law enforcement breaking laws all the time without lights on going to a call. Speeding, crossing in the emergency lane that is clearly blocked (the lane that merges with Fairfield that’s right before Hollywood). It’s just so sad. The world is 100% forever changed.
I seen this service go by There was a vehicle that had sign that said stop for furneral or something like that ! They were told to stop .Ive never seen that before !
Where were the ECSD escorts?
1. Screw FHP.
2. We stop to pay respects. If that’s a crime then I’m not stopping for cops or emergency vehicles anymore. Can’t impede traffic y’all.
3. Sheriff Morgan is not associate with FHP. FHP is state. He is over the county.
4. The 66 yr old obviously shouldn’t be driving if she can’t control her vehicle.
The way I read it, the lady topped the hill, probably at highway speed, and then saw her before impact. Probably not the best place to park in a lane on a divided highway.
It’s not really a problem to stop, just have to use common sense that says “what if someone comes over that hill behind me at 65mph”.
If your going to stop….and I do….you PULL OFF THE ROAD …PLEASE DO NOT STOP IN THE MIDDLE OF THE HIGHWAY….praying for a speedy recovery
That’s crazy a few months ago she would of been cited for not stopping. This is poor leadership from sheriff Morgan. So do we stop or not sheriff morgan. I just honk the sheriff should pay the fine
School bus stop
https://www.flhsmv.gov/safety-center/child-safety/school-bus-safety/
State law funeral procession FL
http://www.leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&Search_String=&URL=0300-0399/0316/Sections/0316.1974.html
Not sure but it looks like you are not supposed to stop in the road if you are going the opposite way of a funeral procession.
I’ve seen people just stop in the traffic lane for a funeral instead of pulling to the side of the road. This is not so much Morgan’s fault as some would like for it to sound like. We have a lot of people from other areas that do not stop. Over the years i have seen officers hurt because some one ran into them while doing the escort. I was part of a funeral a few weeks ago that went from downtown into the county. It was on the week-end and there were no city or county escorts. We all drove from the church to the cemetery and had the service. In most parts of the country some have the service in a church then regroup at the cemetery. I have seen people get out of their car and put their hat or hand over their heart, Maybe it’s time for a change.
I’m with you for sure on this one, Michael Krebs!! What people “think” should or shouldn’t happen because they are Southerners and considerate and what is and isn’t LEGAL, are very often not the same actions. If this driver felt so compelled to show respect to the deceased while driving on a divided highway, then the driver should have pulled OFF THE ROAD!!! It’s as simple as that. Instead, the offending driver’s display of respect caused an accident that could have taken more lives.
The lady that was cited for impeding traffic should have pulled over…OFF of the road…respect is one thing, but endangering lives to show respect for someone already gone…thankfully they both will recover.
So the young lady that was being respectful for the funeral procession was cited for impeding traffic? I’m assuming it’s not a law to stop but it darn sure is the southern way of showing respect! Sorry Ms. Williams for your troubles, but thank you for better respectful to this family!
I realize everyone wants to show respect for a funeral, but stopping in the opposite lane of a high speed 4 lane divided highway is unwise. A disaster waiting to happen. Two days ago, also on 29 there was the same situation. Some people were stopping in the the middle of the road. I would like to hear from someone in law enforcement as to the proper procedure in this case. I would think it would be like a school bus.
that is Messed up there being cited for stopping for a funeral
Very bad! Either of these ladies could have lost their lives. Escambia County Sheriff has said there will be, or there will not be funeral escorts in the county so where does that leave the unsuspecting driving citizen? As far as I can remember drivers traveling the opposite direction of a funeral escort pulled to the side of the road and stopped out of final respect for the deceased. As this area rapidly grows, there are some people coming in who just don’t have time for such local customs. Then there are some young locals who see the custom as a waste of their precious time. If the custom is generally accepted, why was Ms. Williams charged. Otherwise, if you should pull to the right side of the road as far as possible and stop as the escort passes, keep a sharp eye on your rear view mirrors!!
Looking back and appreciating the show of respect, I believe we all wish she had pulled off the road.
David for good intentions
I had to brake fast when the car ahead of me stopped. The funeral processions are led by these trucks now instead of cops. I thought they were those “wide load” trucks ( although there was no wide load behind them). At first I couldn’t understand why the car ahead of me was stopping. They had “funeral procession” signs that I didn’t really see until they were much closer. I was glad I was not following too close!
they cited her for stopping for a funeral that is wrong the fhp is going to crap
Your going to see more of this with Sheriff Morgan stopping funeral processions. No blue lights means no warning for already clueless, distracted drivers. You’ll get creamed for stopping and showing respect .
So sad that this happened when someone did what we’ve always had to do in our area, which is stop for funerals. It brings up the question of “do we stop or not?” since there no longer will be Sheriff Dept. escorts.
they cited her for stopping for a funeral that is wrong
This is what will happen more and more since the Sheriff refuses to escort funerals in the county.
This is a way of showing respect that has been around for many generations, now everyone is just supposed to forget it, sorry that doesn’t happen overnight.
The city of Pensacola has continued support of funeral processions by escorting from locations within city limits.
The saddest part of all is if it is a member of the sheriffs department funeral they department shows up in full force to escort them, but not an ordinary tax payer.
Deeply ironic. Ms. Williams was — mistakenly — being respectful of the survivors and friends of a deceased, apparently unaware that one does not stop in the opposing lanes of a divided four-lane for funerals, as one does not stop for a stopped loading/discharging school bus in the opposing lanes of such a highway.
Now: you ticket-happy FHP, what was gained by giving her a ticket? I suspect she had already gotten the point. Only a dab more revenue and another tic on your citation count. For shame.
Impeding traffic – we always stop for funeral processions. Why was she cited? That’s just wrong.
people need to abide by the rules of the road. “polite” isn’t necessarily safe
I came by this and it looked so bad. All i could tell my girls was i hoped everyone was ok.