Three hospitalized after multi-vehicle crash on State Road 20 in Bluewater Bay

In Brief:

🚑 Three people were hospitalized, including two with serious injuries, after a multi-vehicle crash on State Road 20 in Niceville.
🚓 The crash began with a rear-end collision, which forced an SUV into oncoming traffic and led to a head-on collision with a pickup truck.
👮 An on-duty Okaloosa County deputy stopped the initial driver, who had continued driving after the crash until being forced off the road.

NICEVILLE — A crash involving three vehicles on State Road 20 sent three people to the hospital Thursday morning, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred around 8:35 a.m. at the intersection of State Road 20 and Bay Drive. Troopers say a 63-year-old man from Niceville was driving eastbound in an SUV when he failed to stop in time and rear-ended another SUV that had been stopped at the intersection.

The impact pushed the second SUV forward into the westbound lanes, where it collided head-on with a pickup truck that had been waiting to turn left. The driver of the first SUV continued eastbound after the initial crash until an on-duty Okaloosa County Sheriff’s deputy intervened and forced the vehicle off the road.

The 63-year-old driver sustained minor injuries. His passenger, a woman from Niceville, suffered serious injuries. The driver of the second SUV, a 73-year-old man also from Niceville, was also seriously injured.

The pickup truck driver, a 58-year-old man from DeFuniak Springs, received minor injuries. No passengers in the second or third vehicles were injured, according to the report.

All drivers and passengers involved were wearing seatbelts.

The crash remains under investigation by FHP.