FWC Officer, Tampa Driver Killed In Wrong-Way Crash

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, FL — A Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer and a Tampa woman are dead following a wrong-way crash in St. Lucie County.

According to Florida Highway Patrol, the head-on collision happened Thursday shortly after 12 p.m. at Okeechobee Road and South Header Canal Road.

Troopers said a 24-year-old Tampa woman in a green Kia sedan was traveling the wrong way —eastbound on the westbound lanes of Okeechobee Road — when she struck the front of an unmarked FWC Ford pickup driven by 35-year-old Kyle Patterson, a senior FWC investigator.

Patterson was airlifted to Longwood Hospital in Fort Pierce and pronounced dead, FHP said.

The woman in the Kia also died in the wreck. Her identity has not been released at this time.

Major Justin Bonds with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission described Patterson during a news conference as "a true hero who has done a lot for this agency and the state of Florida."

On Friday, Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed his condolences to Patterson's family.

"I will be praying for the family of fallen FWC Senior Investigator Kyle Patterson, who will be remembered for his dedication to conservation and protecting our communities," he tweeted.

The crash remains under investigation by Florida Highway Patrol.