MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. — A couple, in addition to the woman's sister, were killed in a crash Monday afternoon on County Road 675 in Manatee County had deep ties with the Florida Strawberry Festival.
Leaders with the popular annual festival told 10 Tampa Bay that Randy and Jill Scott died in the crash involving a dump truck. The organization said Jill Scott's sister and festival volunteer, Judy Cook, also was killed.
"All of us here at the Strawberry Festival were devastated to learn of the loss of Randy and Jill Scott and Ms. Judy Cook," Florida Strawberry Festival President Kyle Robinson said. "All of them had been part of the Strawberry Festival family for many, many years. It's tough to believe, it hasn't even sunk in yet."
Randy was the voice of the festival, dedicating his talent to the 11-day event for years. From singing the National Anthem each morning to serenading people with "Happy Trails" each night, he did it all.
"If you've ever been to the Strawberry Festival when it opened, you heard the Nationa Anthem – that was Randy Scott," Robinson said. "If you've ever been at the Strawberry Festival when it closed, you hear a man sing 'Happy Trails' and that was Randy Scott.
"They were such a big part of this festival, day in and day out."
Randy was described as having a sweet demeanor, steadfast spirit, quiet confidence and genuine concern for others. Leaders say Jill was the jewel of her husband's eyes.
"If you could catch a glimpse of her, she would often be seen working fervently behind the scenes to help support her family," festival leaders wrote on Facebook. "Her willingness to serve others and desire to show appreciation for others set her apart from the rest."
Robinson says the festival family is pulling through and leaning on each other.
The collision happened Monday afternoon at the intersection of Jim Davis Road and the county road, otherwise known as Rutland Road.
The three were also active members of GraceWay Church in Plant City and sat in the same seats every Sunday.
Pastor DeWayne Howard of GraceWay Church knew each of them well.
"Randy had an amazing humility about him, gentle, soft-spoken, and you could just see Jesus in him every time you met him," Howard said.
Randy was also the church's sound technician and engineer.
"Miss Jill, she was always keeping you in laughter and she was a firecracker. She was a pistol. We loved being around Jill. She just was amazing. They just took to our family and we took to them and they just kind of adopted us as part of them," Howard said.
"Miss Judy, she was a character in and of her own right. She always kept us laughing and, you know, had a nickname for everybody," Howard said.
A 59-year-old man driving a dump truck was heading west on County Road 675 as he entered a curve in the road while the three people in the SUV – Randy, Jill and her sister, Cook – were going east on the same road also entering the curve, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
That's when the dump truck drifted onto the north shoulder of the road, troopers said. The truck driver reportedly grabbed the steering wheel to jerk the dump truck in a left direction, crossed the roadway in front of the SUV and entered the south shoulder.
The SUV reportedly swerved right to avoid hitting the dump truck, but the front of the dump truck collided with the front of the SUV on the south shoulder.
Everyone but the dump truck driver was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.
Howard has been providing counsel to Randy and Jill's three daughters following the accident and said their faith will help them through this tragedy, and will also lead them to forgive the dump truck driver.
"The greatest thing that they learned from their parents and their aunt is to love everybody and forgive often and forgive quickly. And I think that's one of the things that this family has done well in handling the situation. There's a lot of grief there, there's going to be a lot of what if's and why's and all that. But this family is super amazing when it comes to loving and forgiving all of those around them. And I think that's what you're going to see in the days to come," Howard said.
An investigation into the crash is ongoing.
10 Tampa Bay's Leo Santos contributed to this report.