JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – While the details of a dramatic crash Tuesday afternoon on I-295 sound like a scene from a movie, a woman who saw the “horrific” pileup told News4JAX it’s a reality she can’t escape.
She was so upset she asked that we not share her name.
“He did not need to lose his life the way he did over something so stupid,” the woman said.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a driver in a stolen truck was headed the wrong way on I-295 northbound around 4:38 p.m. when he hit a motorcyclist near 103rd Street. The rider was thrown from his motorcycle, which was then hit by a car that went spinning, eventually running over the motorcyclist who was lying on the highway.
“The family of the motorcyclist, I just want them to know that there were people there trying to help him,” the woman who saw the crash said through tears.
She said she’s having flashbacks of the three-vehicle crash that killed the 66-year-old motorcyclist and she can never forget what she saw.
“This guy was probably just going home or going to work, minding his own business, and then this guy in the truck decided he wanted to come the wrong way and cause a big scene,” she said.
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That driver tried to steal a car, but it didn’t work so he hopped onto the side of a semi that was driving by on the other side of the highway, troopers said.
They are still looking for him.
He is described as a short Black man with short dreadlocks pulled into a bun. He was last seen wearing black shorts and a black shirt, but troopers said he might have removed the shirt.
FHP said the man might have injuries that look like he was in a crash or a fight.
FHP Master Sgt. Dylan Bryan said that, like the witness, he won’t soon forget Tuesday’s crash -- or the way the driver escaped the scene.
“There are certainly occasions throughout your career that kind of stick out, you remember for years to come and this is going to be one of those instances,” Bryan said.
Bryan said the man jumped over the steel guardrail dividing the interstate and tried unsuccessfully to carjack two other drivers
“Then shortly after that he hopped on the side of a red tractor-trailer trying to carjack that as well,” Bryan said.
He said the man eventually ran off.
Anyone with information about the crash or the driver who struck the motorcyclist is asked to call FHP by dialing *FHP (*347) or contact First Coast Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477) or by visiting FCCrimeStoppers.com.
