A 30-year-old Citra man was killed Thursday night after his SUV slammed into a tree in Marion County.
Ellis A. Gilley-Nixon was traveling east on County Road 318, about one mile east of NE 24th Avenue, at about 10:54 p.m. when his 1999 Jeep Cherokee traveled onto the north shoulder of the roadway. It then struck the large tree and came to rest, a Florida Highway Patrol report states.
Nixon was pronounced dead at the scene of the crash by Marion County Fire Rescue personnel. His passenger, 27-year-old Allie Smith, also of Citra, was transported to UF Health Shands Hospital in stable condition, the FHP report says.