Mom dies in front of her three kids when dump truck plows into them, Florida cops say

UPDATE: The mom killed in the crash has been identified as Crystal Jackson, a “beloved” social studies teacher at Lecanto Middle School and former paraprofessional at Lecanto High School, according to the Citrus County high school.

The original story is below.

A dump truck driver turned into oncoming traffic and crashed into a mom driving her three kids, killing the woman, Florida investigators said.

The 50-year-old Homosassa woman, whose name was not released, died at the scene, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The mother was driving a minivan with her 12-year-old son and two daughters ages 15 and 16 on West Homosassa Trail the morning of March 12, state troopers said.

A 34-year-old man was driving a dump truck toward the minivan in his own lane when he turned left into the path of the minivan, causing the tail of the dump truck to smash into the front of the minivan, according to highway patrol.

The mom was killed and her three children had non-life-threatening injuries, while the Ocala truck driver was uninjured, troopers said.

The crash happened in Citrus County, about an 80-mile drive north from Tampa.

This story was originally published March 12, 2025 at 3:32 PM with the headline "Mom dies in front of her three kids when dump truck plows into them, Florida cops say."