A leading figure in the Jacksonville Port Authority and Baker County government is being mourned.
JaxPort Chief Operating Officer James Bennett, who also was a Baker County commissioner, was killed a traffic crash on Interstate 10 on Dec. 8, according to Duval and Baker County officials. Bennett also spent years as an engineer with the Florida Department of Transportation.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol report, the 58-year-old was slowing to a stop on I-10 eastbound near U.S. 301 at about 7:20 a.m. due to congested traffic. A 16-year-old boy driving a pickup truck behind him was unable to stop in time, resulting in a rear-end collision. The truck overturned and the car driven by Bennett went off the roadway, hitting a guardrail. The teenager reportedly came away with minor injuries…