A toll booth attendant was killed Monday when a pickup truck rammed a beach toll booth and became stuck in the sand, the Volusia County Sheriffs Office said. The crash occurred about 12:40 p.m. at the Dunlawton Avenue beach access ramp in Daytona Beach Shores, the sheriffs office said.
The worker, Tammy Jo Baker, was a few weeks shy of her 63rd birthday, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at the scene. Volusia County officials said Baker, a longtime county employee who had recently begun working for the beach parking contractor, was pronounced dead at the scene after lifeguards attempted CPR.
After the vehicle struck the booth, the driver continued toward the water before attempting to turn around and becoming stuck in the sand, authorities said. Bystanders ran to the truck and pulled the driver from the vehicle, the sheriffs office said. The driver was identified as 35-year-old Deanna Harrell.
Chitwood said the driver was “probably doing about 40 mph” and that the force of the impact “crushes the toll taker’s booth.” He said there was a “heavy odor of alcohol” coming from the vehicle and that Harrell was being tested for possible impairment. “It’s just senseless,” Chitwood said.
Jon Ross Myers is the executive editor and publisher of the Mississippi News Network, Mississippi's largest digital only media company. He can be reached at editor@tippahnews.com
