The 20-year-old daughter of a Florida deputy was killed in a bizarre late-night crash involving an alligator, just hours before she was set to be sworn in as a law enforcement official.
Cassi Taylor was driving her Toyota Tacoma along I-95 in Titusville shortly before midnight Sunday when she lost control while trying to avoid a Mercedes that had struck an alligator wandering onto the highway, according to WFLA.
Here’s a smoother, more polished news-style rewrite:
Cassi Taylor, 20, was killed in a freak crash on I-95 involving an alligator, authorities said.
Taylor was thrown from her pickup truck when it overturned during the crash. While she was lying in the roadway, she was struck by another vehicle whose driver fled the scene, according to officials. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Taylor, the daughter of Indian River County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Scott Burke, had joined the sheriff’s office just over a month earlier as a civilian corrections assistant.
The Jasper native was scheduled to take part in her formal swearing-in ceremony on Monday, just hours after the fatal crash.
“We are saddened to share the news of the death of one of our newest team members,” the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday.
Friends and loved ones have since paid tribute to Taylor, remembering the 20-year-old in an online fundraiser as an “amazing young lady with a heart of pure gold who will dearly be missed.”
Taylor is pictured with her father, Scott Burke, a deputy with the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said Taylor was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash, which authorities confirmed began when a Mercedes struck an alligator on the highway. The animal was also killed in the collision.
The Mercedes driver, a 58-year-old Canadian man, was not injured and remained at the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Authorities are continuing to search for the driver who allegedly struck Taylor after she was thrown from her truck and then fled the scene.
