A recent tragedy in Lake City, Florida, has left a profound mark on one family. A 5-year-old girl lost her life in an unfortunate accident involving her dad’s truck. It is especially sad given that the accident happened so close to the holiday season. Instead of being able to celebrate the upcoming festivities, they were instead mourning the loss of a life taken too soon. Although no details have become available about the tragic incident, from what those who know the family say, it was nothing more than an accident. Hopefully this story will remind people about the importance of keeping kids safe in and around vehicles like pickup trucks.
The accident happened the evening of December 13, 2025, First Coast News reported, citing a release from the Florida Highway Patrol.
According to the incident report, two children, a 9-year-old boy and the 5-year-old girl, were riding in the bed of a pickup truck driven by a 39-year-old man. The girl reportedly “fell from the exterior” of the truck around 6:30 p.m.
The girl was taken to the hospital, where she later died. No other injuries were listed, and no identifying information was given about the children or the man driving the car.
Neighbors told WCJB that the man driving the truck was the children’s father. He was described as a hard-working man who loved spending time with his children.
“I saw him playing with the kids that afternoon out in the yard with the dogs, and they played off and on all afternoon and had fun. It was just a tragic accident,” neighbor Jewel Register shared.
Register believes this will be a tragedy the father will never fully be able to move past. “There’s nothing that can happen to that young man now,” she said, per WCJB. “That will be worse than what life is going to put on him because he will never be able to outlive this tragedy.”
