FHP Says New Evidence Indicates Different Wrong-Way Driver Caused Fatal I-110 Crash

April 29, 2023

The Florida Highway Patrol says new evidence “strongly suggests” that a female driver was at fault in an April 22 fatal wrong-way crash on I-110.

Following the crash, troopers said a 38-year old Escambia County man was driving his  car northbound in the southbound lanes of the elevated portion of  I-110 near Garden Street at 4:03 a.m.. His vehicle collided with another car driven south by a 24-year old Pace woman.

The 24-year old woman was taken to an area hospital with serious injuries. The 38-year old man was transported to an area hospital where he was later pronounced deceased.

Friday, FHP said that further investigation suggests it was the Pace woman traveling the wrong-way, and the Pensacola man was traveling the correct direction.

“Both families have been informed that new evidence has been discovered that may strongly suggest the female driver was actually traveling in the wrong direction and not the deceased,” FHP Lt. Jason King told NorthEscambia.com on Friday.

He went on to explain how their determination changed.

“When the press release was originally pushed out, that was a preliminary investigation based on what we had at the time of arrival on scene,” King said. “Our traffic homicide investigators are dedicated men and women who focus on their investigations. They’re very thorough and focus on all evidence receive which is why we take a little bit of extra time to complete a traffic homicide report. As a neutral party in investigation, our job is to ensure all details, and all evidence is received, reviewed and vetted as we continue our investigation for a final conclusion of what actually occurred. Our goal is to find closure for all that have been involved.”

The FHP investigation is continuing.

Comments

2 Responses to “FHP Says New Evidence Indicates Different Wrong-Way Driver Caused Fatal I-110 Crash”

  1. M M on April 30th, 2023 3:07 pm

    The new evidence is most likely from decoding the black box. A black box in a car gathers driving information about the vehicle before, during and after a crash. The official name of this device is “event data recorder.” The data gathered includes, speed, acceleration, braking, steering and air-bag deployment.

    Since the early 2000s, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has been collecting black box information to get a better picture of the circumstances surrounding car accidents. In 2013, 96% of every new car sold in the United States came with a black box, and as of Sept. 1, 2014, every new vehicle must have one installed.

    Prayers to the family and friends of the deceased man.

  2. Soobee on April 29th, 2023 8:22 pm

    I’m so glad they continued investigating this. I hope the exact truth comes out. Rest in peace sir