The daughter of a Florida sheriff’s deputy died in a freak nighttime accident caused by a wandering alligator. The crash occurred just hours before she was due to be sworn in as a law enforcement officer.
Cassie Taylor, 20, lost control of her Toyota Tacoma pickup truck while desperately trying to avoid a Mercedes that had struck an alligator in Titusville, Florida, shortly before midnight on Sunday, according to the news site WFLA. She was ejected from the vehicle and subsequently struck by a hit-and-run driver while lying on the road, officials reported. Paramedics pronounced her dead at the scene.
Taylor, the daughter of Indian River County Sheriff’s Deputy Scott Burke, died just over a month after joining the sheriff’s office as a corrections assistant. Her official swearing-in ceremony was scheduled for Monday; she missed it by only a few hours. Investigators stated that Taylor was not wearing a seatbelt. They also confirmed that the accident was triggered by an alligator, which died in the collision. The driver of the Mercedes, a 58-year-old Canadian man, was uninjured and remained at the scene, the Florida Highway Patrol reported. A search for the driver who fled the scene is ongoing.
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