Wrong-way driver and woman killed Saturday night on U.S. 27 in rural NW Marion County

 Two people were killed Saturday night when a wrong-way vehicle struck a car head-on.

The deadly crash occurred along a dark stretch of U.S. 27 with no street lights. The crash closed the southbound lanes for several hours so Florida Highway Patrol troopers could take measurements, interview a witness and wait for the Medical Examiner's Office to respond. 

According to FHP officials, a Jeep Grand Cherokee was northbound in the southbound inside lane of U.S. 27. A Ford Fusion was southbound on U.S. 27 in the inside lane, and the Jeep slammed into the car about a mile south of County Road 326 in rural northwest Marion County. 

Fatal crash:Three Marion County residents killed, 3 more seriously injured in fiery I-75 crash south of Ocala

Deadly scene:Ocala man, 23, dies in traffic crash in northwest Marion County

Double fatalities:Two men die in single-vehicle crash in Ocklawaha

FHP officials said the driver of the Grand Cherokee, identified only as a 54-year-old man from Miami, was the lone occupant of the vehicle and died at the scene.

The Ford driver was a 22-year-old Williston woman. She also died at the scene and was the only person in her vehicle. Troopers were told the woman was on her way to work.

Names of victims involved in crashes are no longer being released by FHP officials.

Marion County Fire Rescue spokesman James Lucas said his agency received the call at 6:46 p.m. Saturday and arrived at 6:55 p.m. 

The man and woman had to be extricated from the vehicles.

A woman driving to the World Equestrian Center saw the wrong-way vehicle

A woman told a Star-Banner reporter that she was driving in the right lane and a vehicle was in front of her. She said she noticed that vehicle's brake lights activate.

The woman said that was when she realized that the Jeep was driving in the lane beside her but traveling in the wrong direction.  

The witness, who declined to give her name, said she did not have any time to honk her horn or alert anyone when the crash happened.

"It happened so fast," she said.

She said it didn't appear that the driver of the Jeep was speeding. She estimated his speed at about 55 mph. The speed limit on the roadway is 65 mph.

The woman said her 12-year-old daughter was in the vehicle with her and they were on their way to the World Equestrian Center to watch a show.

She said she's visiting from Massachusetts to attend the horse shows and is new to the area.

Saturday's deaths were the second and third Marion County traffic fatalities that the FHP has investigated. Last year, the agency recorded at least 80 traffic deaths in Marion. That does not include traffic deaths in Ocala, Belleview or Dunnellon. 

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb.