An alligator that wandered onto Interstate 95 set off a deadly chain-reaction crash late Sunday night, killing a 20-year-old Florida woman just hours before she was scheduled to be officially sworn in at the sheriff’s office where her father works as a deputy.
Cassi Taylor, of Palm Bay, was pronounced dead at the scene on the southbound lanes of I-95 near Titusville, in Brevard County, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. She had joined the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office on July 20, 2026, as a civilian corrections assistant, and had been on the job a little over a month when she died.
The wreck started around 11:52 p.m. when a Mercedes-Benz hit an alligator standing in the road, troopers said. Taylor was driving close behind that car. She swerved to avoid the wreck, lost control of her pickup and overturned. She was thrown into the center lane, and as she lay on the highway, a third vehicle struck her and drove off without stopping.
A crash that started with an alligator on I-95
Troopers said a 58-year-old man from Canada was driving a 2010 Mercedes-Benz E-350 south in the center lane near mile marker 214 when he spotted the alligator ahead. He could not stop in time. The front left of the Mercedes hit the animal, causing what investigators described as catastrophic damage and leaving the car disabled in the middle of the interstate.
Taylor came up behind the stalled Mercedes in a 2004 Toyota Tacoma. She tried to steer clear of the damaged car and lost control of the pickup, according to the crash report. The truck flipped and ejected her onto the pavement in the center lane, where she came to rest.
The Mercedes driver was not injured and stayed at the scene. The alligator was also killed in the crash. Both Taylor’s Tacoma and the man’s damaged sedan were left in the roadway, and traffic was funneling around them when the third car came through.
Set to be sworn in the next day
Taylor was scheduled to be officially sworn in Monday, the day after the crash, the sheriff’s office said. She had come aboard only weeks earlier, on July 20, as one of the agency’s newest hires. Her role was a civilian one, supporting the corrections side rather than working as a sworn deputy.
“We are saddened to share the news of the death of one of our newest team members,” the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office wrote in a social media post Tuesday, adding that Taylor died early Monday morning. The agency shared her name and photo the day after the crash.
The office identified Taylor as the daughter of Deputy Scott Burke, whom it described as a familiar face at community events. “She is the daughter of Deputy Scott Burke, who many of you may know from community events,” the post said. “Please keep Scott and the entire family in your prayers.”
The sheriff’s office asked residents to keep Taylor’s family, friends and colleagues in their thoughts as they mourn. The crash happened in Brevard County, one county north of the Indian River County office where she had just started working.
The driver who kept going
The vehicle that hit Taylor after she was thrown onto the highway has not been found. Troopers described it only as an unknown vehicle traveling south that struck her and fled the scene. The Florida Highway Patrol has not released any description of the car or its driver, and the search continues.
Under Florida law, leaving the scene of a crash that involves a death is a first-degree felony. It is punishable by up to 30 years in prison and carries a mandatory minimum sentence of four years behind bars for anyone convicted.
The FHP is asking anyone with information about the vehicle that struck Taylor to call troopers at *347 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS. Tips left with Crimeline can be made anonymously.
What troopers found at mile marker 214
Investigators said Taylor was not wearing a seat belt when the Tacoma overturned and threw her from the truck. She was pronounced dead at the crash site.
The crash is being handled by Trooper Provencher, with Corporal Wenzel assigned as the homicide investigator, under FHP case number FHHP26ON0405916. The case remains open while troopers look for evidence that could identify the driver who left.
Three vehicles and one animal factored into the sequence near mile marker 214: the Mercedes that struck the alligator, Taylor’s Tacoma that swerved and flipped, and the car that hit her and left. Only the Canadian man in the Mercedes stayed at the scene. The crash happened in the southbound lanes, shortly before midnight on Aug. 30.
A family asking for help
Taylor’s relatives identified her before the sheriff’s office publicly released her name. They set up a fundraiser through Local Helping Hands Foundation, Inc., which lists her parents as Dana (Scott) Burke and Travis (Kasey) Taylor.
The page said Taylor had wished to be cremated, and that cremation alone costs about $2,500. The family is raising money to cover a service, an urn and other expenses, including lost wages while they grieve.
As of Sunday, the fundraiser had raised $1,845 from 14 donors toward its goal. The family described her as a young woman with “a heart of gold” who will be dearly missed.
What should have been the start of Taylor’s career in the same office as her father instead became a week of mourning. The sheriff’s office spent it asking the community to pray for the Burke family, and troopers spent it looking for a driver who never came back.
