NORTH OKALOOSA, Fla., Dec. 11, 2024—Two north county accidents two days apart sent three people to the hospital while two walked away without injuries.

The first accident occurred around 3:20 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Robinson Road and State Road 85 east of Laurel Hill.

An SUV driven by a 23-year-old Florala, Ala., man was headed south on Robinson Road as a second SUV driven by an 18-year-old Crestview female was headed west on Hwy 85. The Florala driver, who had a stop sign, crossed into the path of the Crestview driver resulting in an offset head-on collision, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

Both drivers suffered minor injuries; a 54-year old Florala passenger suffered serious injuries. All were transported to local hospitals.

The intersection of Highways 85 and 393 was closed for about three hours during the emergency response, cleanup and traffic investigation.

The second accident occurred around 2 p.m. Monday on westbound Interstate 10 near mile marker 49 in Holt.

A recreational van driven by a 32-year-old man from Grand Rapids, Mich., was traveling west on I-10 when the right rear tire went flat. This caused the van to veer into the inside guardrail, according to an FHP news release.

The impact caused the van to overturn on the passenger side, coming to a rest in the center of both westbound lanes.

Neither the driver nor his passenger, a 34-year-old Grand Rapids woman, were injured in the accident, according to the release.

Westbound traffic was at a standstill for about one-and-a-half hours while the van was righted and moved to the shoulder and debris was removed from the roadway. By 3:30 p.m., both lanes were open for westbound traffic.

Staff and FHP news releases