Passenger Killed, Driver Seriously Injured as Semi Leaves I-10 and Hits Tree in Walton County, Florida

A 41-year-old man from Gaffney, South Carolina, was killed and a 51-year-old driver from Smyrna, Georgia, was seriously injured on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, when their semi tractor-trailer travelling east on Interstate 10 in Walton County, Florida, left the road near mile marker 68 and struck a tree, according to a Florida Highway Patrol press release reported by the Northwest Florida Daily News (USA Today Network) and WJHG. The passenger was pronounced deceased at the scene by Walton County Fire Rescue.

Awaaz Punjab Investigations Desk23 October 20263 min readRead in all 3 languages

A passenger was killed and the driver seriously injured in a single-vehicle semi crash on Interstate 10 in Walton County, Florida, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, according to a Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) press release reported by the Northwest Florida Daily News, part of the USA Today Network.

Source: Northwest Florida Daily News via Coral Springs FL News

The crash happened at approximately 11:04 a.m. on I-10 eastbound at mile marker 68. The semi tractor-trailer was travelling east approaching mile marker 68 when the driver lost control of the truck, which ran off the road onto the south shoulder, and the front portion of the truck struck a tree on the south shoulder, FHP said.

The driver was a 51-year-old man from Smyrna, Georgia, and he suffered serious injuries. His passenger, a 41-year-old man from Gaffney, South Carolina, was located in the truck's cabin and was pronounced deceased by Walton County Fire Rescue, according to the FHP release. WJHG, the Panama City NBC affiliate, reported the same outcome — one person dead and the driver seriously injured after the crash off I-10 in Walton County.

Source: WJHG (via Roadnow I-10 Florida listing)

FHP did not release the men's names in the press release as reported, and the release as published did not state a cause beyond the driver losing control. Interstate 10 is one of the main east-west trucking corridors across the Florida Panhandle and the southern United States. Awaaz Punjab extends its condolences to the passenger's family. Sources: Florida Highway Patrol press release as reported by the Northwest Florida Daily News (USA Today Network), October 22, 2026; WJHG, October 22, 2026.