A Tuesday morning head-on collision on SW Williston Road claimed the life of I Am Country’s 106.9 FM morning show host Heather Jennings.  

According to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) release, a 30-year-old Gainesville woman was driving a sedan southbound on State Road 121 (Williston Road) just south of SW Wacahoota Road when her vehicle crossed the center line and struck Jennings’ sedan, which was traveling north.  

Both drivers were transported to UF Health Shands Hospital in Gainesville, where they were pronounced deceased.  

Jennings was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident, and the other drive was not, according to FHP. 

Jennings started her weekday show on WPLL I Am Country 106.9 FM in November.   

MARC Media released the following statement about Jennings:  

An hour before sunrise today, I Am Country morning DJ Heather Jennings was driving to work on the country roads of Alachua County when her sedan was met head-on by another vehicle. She did not survive.  

We knew something was very wrong at 6 a.m. when patriotic Heather wasn’t standing at her mic, hand over her heart, proudly leading her audience in the Pledge of Allegiance. It was time to begin her signature broadcast, “The Heather Jennings Morning Show,” but instead her booth was silent. Then we got the dreaded phone call confirming that it was indeed Heather in that double-fatality crash. It’s a phone call we’ll never forget. We’re still grappling with the reality of that news, fervently praying for her two daughters, Dixie and Jacy, whom she loved beyond measure.  

It was barely a month ago when we welcomed her cheerful, creative personality to the MARC Radio airwaves. Our November 5th company press release, accompanied by a beautiful picture of her in our studio, reflected Heather’s enthusiasm for her first day at the station. It read in part: “You may recognize her as that woman on the Harley cruising down the back roads of Alachua County singing out loud to her favorite musical artists. “Country music is hands-down the soundtrack of my life, and I’ll help you make it yours, too,” said Heather.”  

We are having a hard time realizing that the halls of our radio station will no longer reverberate with Heather’s voice singing along, word-for-word, with every song we air. She sang with enthusiasm, and yes, always on key.  

We lost Heather this morning. Before we shared our grief with you, we wanted to be certain that Heather’s family and closest friends had been informed first.  

Now we’re struggling to find the words to write about this friend we cherished. Not very many people can make the kind of impression that Heather Jennings did in just one short month. But as a professional broadcaster, she quickly made her mark. 

We join her family, her friends and her listeners all over Gainesville in the incomprehensible loss of her young life and her distinctive on-air presence. 

There was a void on our airwaves this morning. And it will be there again tomorrow and forever after. But we are a company built on faith. 

Today the airwaves of heaven got even sweeter. We’ll miss you, Heather. 

I Am Country 106.9 is owned and operated by MARC Media Group, which also owns radio stations coast to coast in Florida and in Texas. It also owns Mainstreet Daily News and an outdoor advertising company. The radio stations in the Gainesville market include WXJZ 100.9 The Beach, WTMG 101.3 Magic, WDVH 94.1 R&B and WTMN 103.5 The Shepherd.