A 17-year-old Tate High School student died Friday after a semi-truck collided with a Kia Soul at the intersection of County Road 196 and U.S. Highway 29 in Escambia County.
Bradley Ellertson’s mother, Krystal Stone, says her son was sitting in the passenger seat of the sedan as Ellertson’s 16-year-old girlfriend drove the car. A Florida Highway Patrol report says another 16-year-old was also in the vehicle.
“Bradley was such a good guy, and I know right now with me crying and me upset … he would say, ‘It’s OK, mom. It was just an accident,'” Stone told the News Journal.
FHP’s incident report says the driver of the Kia Soul stopped at a stop sign in the eastbound lane of County Road 196, but “failed to yield to oncoming traffic when she attempted to cross the southbound lanes of traffic on U.S. Highway 29” as the semitruck trailer approached.
“(This) resulted in the left side of the Kia Soul colliding with the front bumper of the semi-truck,” the report says.
Ellertson was pronounced dead on scene by paramedics, and the two other occupants were taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in “serious” condition. The 32-year-old Milton woman driving the semi did not sustain any injuries, according to FHP.