Florida beach toll booth worker killed after driver rams structure before getting stuck in sand, sheriff says

A toll booth attendant at a Florida beach was killed Monday when the driver of a pickup truck rammed into the structure before getting stuck in the sand.

The fatal crash happened around 12:40 p.m. at the Dunlawton Avenue beach access ramp in Daytona Beach Shores, the Volusia Sheriff’s Office said. The employee inside, Tammy Jo Baker, was just a few weeks shy of her 63rd birthday, Sheriff Mike Chitwood said at the scene.

The driver was “probably doing about 40 mph,” the sheriff said. “And it crushes the toll taker’s booth.”

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Baker, a longtime employee with Volusia County who recently began working for the beach parking contractor, was pronounced dead at the scene after lifeguards attempted to perform CPR.

“I think she was probably close to being killed on impact,” Chitwood said. “That booth isn’t made of anything, if you look at it. And you hit that thing at 40 miles an hour; there’s really nowhere to go. And it flipped the booth around, the force of that.”

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After the vehicle struck Baker, the driver, identified as 35-year-old Deanna Harrell, continued toward the water before authorities said she attempted before attempting to turn around and became stuck in the sand.

Bystanders ran to the truck to pull Harrell out, authorities said. She was being tested for possible impairment while driving, Chitwood noted, adding that there was a “heavy odor of alcohol” coming from the vehicle.

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“It’s just senseless,” Chitwood said of Baker’s death.