By Jeff Waters, Democrat Reporter
A Gainesville woman was critically hurt but an O'Brien man escaped injury Thursday night when a pickup struck a log truck on US 27 in Lafayette County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Timothy John Caldwell, 47, was headed east at about 8 p.m., roughly a half-mile west of Branford, when he saw a 2003 Chevrolet pickup driven by 21-year-old Heather Lawrence "meeting him head on (as it was traveling west) and applied the brakes," read an FHP report.
The left front of the pickup struck the left front of the log truck, said FHP. The pickup then rotated counter clockwise, bounced off a bridge rail, and struck the left side of the log truck a second time. The pickup came to a final rest in the center of US 27 facing southwest. The log truck ended its travel in the eastbound lane facing east.
Lawrence was airlifted to Shands UF by Trauma One helicopter, FHP reported. She was not wearing a seatbelt, reports show. Caldwell reportedly was. Damage to the pickup was estimated at $10,000, with $20,000 in damages to the 2003 log truck.
It was not reported if the log truck was hauling logs at the time.
Charges are pending, said FHP.
