Florida mother, Amber Stanley, and her two children, ages 2 and 4 years old, have died in a tragic, freak accident while traveling on a South Carolina roadway Monday.

Stanley, 24, was behind the wheel of a Kia Soul when the vehicle struck an alligator that was sunning itself in the middle of the roadway. According to the South Carolina Highway Patrol, the accident occurred in the northbound lane of I-95 near mile marker 86 around 12:49 a.m. Monday.

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Highway Patrol troopers say that accident happened in the northbound lane of I-95 near mile marker 86 around 12:49 a.m. Monday when the driver of a 2011 Kia Soul struck the alligator. Amber Stanley, 24, along with her 4-year-old son Jack and her 2-year-old daughter Autumn, all from Callahan, FL, all died of thermal injuries due to the vehicle fire. The car, investigators said, then ran off the left side of the road, hit a tree, and caught fire. source

No others were injured in the wreck. The condition of the reptile was not provided.

Stanley’s hometown of Callahan, Florida, is located in Nassau County and sits adjacent to Duval County. The population was 962 at the 2000 census. It is one location of the Northeast Florida Fair, according to Wikipedia.