Released by the Florida Highway Patrol
The Florida Highway Patrol reports that 59-year-old David Shepherd of Ponce de Leon, Florida died of injuries sustained in a Jan. 1 crash in Walton County and 23-year-ld Brandon Mathew Schmidt of Westville, Florida received critical injuries.
According to the FHP, Schmidt was a passenger in a 2008 Toyota Tocoma driven by Trevor Shay Burgess, 22, of Westville. He was charged with one count of DUI Manslaughter and one count of DUI with Serious Bodily Injury.
The FHP reports that Burgess, in the Toyota, was traveling nothbound on the northbound lane of S.R. 81 and Shepherd was driving a 2013 Ford F-150 traveling southbound on the southbound lane of S.R. 81 at the time of the incident.
While cresting a hill the Toyota failed to maintain its lane and entered the southbound lane of travel while traveling northbound. The front of the Toyota collided with the front of the Ford. Then the Toyota began to travel west, toward the grass shoulder while overturning. The Toyota came to final rest on its roof, facing west. That vehicle began to burn after it came to final rest. The Ford came to final rest upon both the northbound and southbound lanes of travel, facing south.