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Atmore man, car wind up in Escambia Bay

An Atmore man escaped with only minor injuries Wednesday (Feb. 21) after he and his car were sent flying off a Santa Rosa County, Fla. bridge and into Escambia Bay about an hour before sunrise.

According to a Florida Highway Patrol press release, Daniel Payton Taylor, 47, was driving his 2005 Chevy Tahoe eastward on U.S 90, about two miles west of Woodbine Road, when the Tahoe “traveled onto the grass median,” then “collided head-on with a guardrail which prevents vehicles from entering the water between the two bridges.”

The release reveals that the collision with the guardrail “sent (Taylor’s vehicle) into the air before entering the water.” The Tahoe “came to a final position of rest fully submerged in water between the two bridges.

Taylor was taken to West Florida Hospital, where he was reportedly treated and released.

The eastbound lanes of U.S. 90 were closed for a lengthy period while wrecker crews worked to pull the vehicle from the water.