DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A beach toll worker is dead in Volusia County after a truck crashed into the booth.
It happened just before 1 p.m. on the Dunlawton Blvd approach in Daytona Beach Shores.
Volusia Sheriff’s Office says the driver of the truck, 35-year-old Deanna Harrell, has been Baker Acted.
A memorial is now growing at the site where the toll booth was. 63-year-old Tammie Jo Baker had worked the toll booth for years and was a beloved member of the Volusia County community.
Channel 9 spoke to a nurse who tried to save Baker. She didn’t want to go on camera, but she wanted to share her story. “We were sitting down looking at the beach, we heard a loud boom, and I looked to my left, and that’s when I saw a black truck speeding toward the ocean,” the nurse said.
A retired nurse shared a video of people running from the truck, crashing through the waves.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says Deanna Harrell was going at least 40 miles an hour on Dunlawton when she hit this toll booth and kept going.
Toll worker Tammie Jo Baker was inside the booth.
The nurse we spoke to says she, along with lifeguards and paramedics, tried to save Baker.
“An innocent person like that. Just taken away, showing up to work, 63 years old, she is probably just working toward her retirement. Now, just gone like that, I’m just frustrated that I couldn’t save, I couldn’t do anything to save her,” the nurse said.
Baker had worked the toll booths for several years, happily sharing these photos on social media of her office view of the beach.
“She’s always cheerful and always smiling and just, it’s part of the, you know, just part of this scene here,” said Bonnie Urbanski.
Witnesses say moments after the crash, they saw the driver, Deanna Harrell, open the door and fall out of the truck.
“When I communicate with her, are you okay? She didn’t respond to me…kind of out of it and confused and didn’t know what just happened,” the nurse said.
We were there as Harrell paced back and forth, even showing her middle finger to beachgoers moments before she was taken into custody.
Volusia Sheriff’s Office says Harrell was a baker’s act.
We found in July of last year, Daytona Beach Shores issued a risk protection order and took away her guns after she told authorities she was trying to take her life. The order was set to expire next month.
Deland police say she was cited for reckless driving twice in 2016 and 2017. Channel 9 has requested the full incident reports for those incidents.
Volusia County Sheriff’s Office says they were running a blood test on Harrell to test for intoxication.
Witnesses and the sheriff both said the truck reeked of alcohol.
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