‘Forget it:’ Hours-long backup on I-95 in St. Johns County causes major holiday headache

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — Lanes on Interstate 95 South are all clear after a crash backed up traffic for over nine hours on Thursday leaving drivers angry and frustrated.

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Some had to call out of work. Another person heading for a quick trip to Target ended up stuck for two hours.

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This happened at around 7:00 a.m. on I-95 in St. Johns County near the Duval County line. Drivers said it was one of the worst backups they’ve ever seen.

One woman missed her entire flight and said she wanted to get to Orlando airport with about 2-3 hours to spare. She said she left at a reasonable time.

Original Story: TRAFFIC ALERT: I-95 still slow following early morning crash in St. Johns Co.

But the aftermath of this crash had her come up with a new plan for the holidays.

The nine-hour traffic jam left thousands of drivers stuck and caused a major holiday headache.

Emonie Day said she missed her Christmas flight from Orlando to Alabama because of the fiery crash on I-95 South, and the backup that stemmed from it.

“It was one of those things where it’s like this wasn’t meant to happen.”

The crash happened near County Road 210, backing up traffic for over 12 miles.

Day left her home on the Westside before noon thinking that left plenty of time for her 5:30 p.m. flight.

Read: ‘It’s just not safe:’ Parents frustrated as more than 160 Duval school buses delayed or didn’t show

“We left at like 11 a.m. this morning and by the time it hit 2′oclock I was like forget it because we weren’t going to make it,” Day said. “When the ETA said 3:35 then said 4:30 I was like, forget it.”

State troopers said a car rear-ended a semi-truck causing it to hit trees and catch fire as it overturned. A second semi couldn’t avoid the crash.

Day was with her three-year-old daughter and said the entire process was chaotic.

“When you’re planning for you and a child there’s a lot you’re thinking about and I was trying not to get overwhelmed.”

Video on Action News Jax showed the bumper-to-bumper backup. Day said it took an hour to drive one mile.

U.S. 1, 9B, and I-295 were also clogged as drivers looked to avoid traffic.

“Every which way we went traffic bled over,” Day said.

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But the good news for Day was there’s still one more plan to see family for Christmas.

“My dad is gonna’ meet us halfway like a halfway point. We didn’t cancel the flight returning home so from there we will take the flight from ‘Bama to Orlando.”

Day said she did get some credit from her airline company.

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The Florida Highway Patrol said the semi-truck driver was critically hurt. the 32-year-old sedan driver from Jacksonville had serious injuries and was found at fault and cited. The other semi-driver had minor injuries.

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