Car Hits Gator On I-95, Three Die

A mother and her two young children were killed after their car hit a large alligator that was crossing Interstate 95. The family was traveling north on I-95 when the accident happened around 12:50 a.m. Monday, May 7. The crash occurred near mile marker 86, which is 86 miles north of the Georgia line near the I-26 interchange.

The alligator was 9 feet long, according to Lance Cpl. Judd Jones, of the South Carolina Highway Patrol. A 9-foot alligator could easily weigh 300 to 400 pounds, or more. The alligator was killed on impact, allowing officers to easily identify how the accident occurred.

Amber Stanley, 24, her 4-year-old son Jack, and her 2-year-old daughter Autumn died in the wreck. They were from Callahan, Fla., which is northwest of Jacksonville and about 20 miles south of Folkston, Ga. and the Georgia state line. Josh Stanley lost his wife and only two children in the crash.

The vehicle was a 2011 Kia Soul, which left the roadway into the median after the alligator was hit. The car struck a tree and caught fire.