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Woman dies in crash on State Road 52

The three-car accident stopped traffic for hours.

By JAMAL THALJI
Published October 19, 2005

	[Times photo: Zach Boyden-Holmes]
	Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Larry Coggins Jr., right, and Trooper Richard Longo examine the scene of a fatal accident Wednesday on State Road 52. The driver of the white 2000 Dodge Caravan, a 59-year-old Hudson woman, died after authorities say her vehicle crossed the centerline, striking a westbound tractor-trailer and then spun into a third vehicle.

LAND O'LAKES - A 59-year-old Hudson woman died in a three-vehicle crash Wednesday morning that closed State Road 52 for hours.

Wacelia Carroll, of 12615 College Hill Drive, was already dead when motorists ran to her aid after the 10:10 a.m. accident, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Her white 2000 Dodge Caravan minivan was eastbound on S.R. 52 when for an unknown reason it crossed into the westbound lane, the FHP said, and into the path of an oncoming white 1998 Freightliner tractor-trailer.

The front of the minivan collided with the left side of the tractor-trailer, according to the FHP, then hit the left side of another eastbound minivan, a 1992 Oldsmobile Silhouette. The tractor-trailer cab overturned, the Caravan's front end was smashed in and the Silhouette crashed through a barbed wire fence.

The Freightliner's driver, John Mullis, 59, of St. Augustine, was taken to Spring Hill Regional Hospital with minor injuries. The driver of the Silhouette, Douglas Burdette, 39, of Hudson, was uninjured. All three drivers were wearing seat belts, the FHP said. S.R. 52 was closed between U.S. 41 and Ehren Cutoff for five hours; it reopened to traffic about 3 p.m.

[Last modified October 19, 2005, 15:29:10]