Emergency responders were dispatched to a fatal single-vehicle accident near the Love’s Truck Stop on SE US Highway 301 in Hawthorne on Thursday morning.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) release, a 25-year-old St. Petersburg man was driving a van northbound on SE US Highway 301 in the left inside lane when a 53-year-old Zephyrhills man driving a tractor-trailer was turning left from the access driveway onto Highway 301 just north of SE 57th Avenue. The van collided with the left side of the trailer’s rear axles.
According to an Alachua County Fire Rescue (ACFR) release, units from ACFR and the Melrose Fire Department responded to a vehicle accident with entrapment in the 5600 block of SE US Highway 301 at 8:25 a.m.
ACFR Engine and Rescue 62 located the single victim in the vehicle, but the driver was reportedly dead on scene.
Editor’s note: This story was updated with information from the Florida Highway Patrol.