A Florida mother was killed and her 13-year-old daughter was critically injured in a wrong-way crash on Interstate 10 in Madison County after the two were returning home from dropping off the woman’s older daughter at college.
Terri Pollock, 35, was driving east on I-10 with her younger daughter, Tariji Cone, when their SUV was struck head-on by a sedan traveling west in the eastbound lanes. The crash happened around 7:10 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 19, near mile marker 259.
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, troopers had received an alert shortly before the collision about a vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on the interstate. The vehicle was reported traveling west between mile markers 260 and 259 in the eastbound lanes.
Witnesses reported heavy rainfall around the time of the crash. The two vehicles came to rest on opposite shoulders of the interstate, and emergency crews had to remove all three people from the vehicles.
Pollock and her daughter were taken to Tallahassee Memorial Healthcare as trauma alerts. The 29-year-old woman driving the wrong-way vehicle was also critically injured.
Pollock later died from her injuries. Her daughter remained in critical condition following the crash.
The family said Pollock and Tariji had been making the trip home after helping Pollock’s older daughter, Danaijah Jackson, begin her college journey at Florida A&M University in Tallahassee.
The tragedy came shortly after a major milestone for the family. In May, Pollock and Jackson celebrated their graduations together. Pollock had earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing, while Jackson completed her associate degree and high school diploma.
Family members described Pollock as a devoted single mother who worked to provide for her daughters.
Tariji suffered multiple serious injuries, including several broken bones and a brain bleed that required surgery, according to her grandmother, Lasondra Pollock. She also required a chest tube and spent several days on a ventilator while receiving treatment.
Lasondra had traveled to Tallahassee with the family to help prepare Jackson’s college room before Terri and Tariji began their trip back home.
A fundraising campaign has since been established to help the family with Pollock’s funeral expenses, Jackson’s college costs and Tariji’s ongoing medical care and recovery.
The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate the crash. Charges were reported as pending, and authorities have not announced a final determination regarding the circumstances that led the other driver to travel the wrong way on I-10.
