WTXL Tallahassee reports that the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating a head-on crash that was fatal in Madison County. The accident happened on Tuesday at 11:34 p.m. on Interstate-10 near mile marker 260 in Madison County, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.
A Subaru Outback was being driven the wrong way in the westbound lane of I-10. A Honda Civic traveling westbound along the I-10 at the same time. The Subaru crashed head-on into the Honda. The force of the impact caused the Honda to rotate counterclockwise before coming to a rest.
20-year-old Eric Ricketts, Jr., was pronounced dead at the scene. He was the driver of the Honda. 36-year-old Robert Evan Gray was identified as the driver of the Subaru. He suffered from minor injuries and was taken to a local hospital for treatment.
At this time, it is not known if intoxicated was a factor in the accident, but charges are pending.
Although head-on accidents only make up a small percentage of all traffic accidents, they are most likely to cause serious or fatal injuries. Head-on crashes are also more likely to happen in rural, rather than urban, areas. 13% of all fatal rural traffic accidents are caused by head-on crashes, compared to 7% of all urban crashes being caused by head-on crashes. Most head-on collisions are the result of human error. There are many factors that may lead to head-on accidents, but the most common reasons include distracted driving, driving while intoxicated, driving while fatigued, and ignoring or not seeing traffic signs indicating on and off ramps and one-way roadways.