In damp, overcast afternoon conditions on Saturday, May 10, 2025, a tight-knit Florida family met a tragic end in a collision that has left a community shaken. Just after 12:15 p.m., along U.S. Highway 84 near County Road 95 in the Gordon area of eastern Houston County, Alabama, their SUV crossed the median and was struck by an eastbound semi-truck, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.
The victims were identified as 74-year-old Alan David Waller and 71-year-old Marian Diane Myrick Waller of Floral City, Florida, and their daughter, 49-year-old Carrie Christine Stone of Inverness, Florida. All three were pronounced dead at the scene; the driver of the 18-wheeler, 48-year-old Tracy Deshon Williams of Tyler, Texas, sustained only minor injuries and was evaluated on site.
Daylight drizzle and mist had settled over the rural stretch of highway that afternoon, contributing to slick pavement and reduced visibility—though officials have said the precise role of weather in the crash remains under investigation. According to the coroner, the SUV — a 2022 Toyota 4Runner — attempted to cross two eastbound lanes of traffic and the median before colliding with the truck.
Friends and relatives describe the Wallers and their daughter as a trio bound by love, faith and generosity. Married more than fifty years, David and Diane were devoted to each other and their family; Carrie, by all accounts, mirrored their kindness — giving her time and heart freely to others. From weekend get-togethers in Floral City to church events and helping neighbors, they were inseparable in life. Their passing together, side by side, has drawn mournful comfort from loved ones who say their bond remained unbroken in their final moments.
Emergency crews from Houston County arrived within minutes and closed the highway for hours while troopers and investigators processed the scene. The wreckage was described as catastrophic — the 4Runner’s front-end and side crushed from the impact, leaving little of the vehicle’s original shape intact. The Alabama Highway Patrol division of ALEA is leading the investigation and has asked any witnesses or drivers with dash-cam footage of the area around the time of the crash to come forward.
In the days since, the families of the Wallers and Carrie have asked for privacy, strength and prayer as they begin to heal from this unfathomable loss. Memorials are being planned in both Florida and Alabama, where friends and extended family will gather to celebrate the lives of these three beloved individuals. Their laughter, their compassion, and their unflagging spirit are what those who knew them say they will carry forward in memory.
As the local community offers condolences, the event serves as a stark reminder of how swiftly lives can change on the nation’s highways. While facts of the crash remain under review, what endures is the memory of three people known not for how they died, but for how they lived — together, always together, and now forever remembered.
