ORLANDO, Fla. – The Jacksonville State University Athletic Department is sad to announce that softball player Tera Marie Ross passed away in an automobile accident on her way home to Florida for the holidays on Wednesday.

Ross, 22, was a native of Cooper City, Fla., and was a three-year starter for Coach Jana McGinnis and the Gamecock softball team. She was also the president of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee and was inducted into the Scholar-Athlete Hall of Fame just last Saturday.

Ross was driving a 2000 Ford Explorer south on the Florida turnpike when the vehicle crossed the median and collided head-on with a northbound 2002 Volvo freight truck, according to Florida Highway Patrol officials.

Ross’ brother, Zachary Ryan Ross, 20, and a fellow sofball player, Kelly Melissa Raw, 18, of Oviedo, Fla., were passengers in the Explorer. They were flown to Orlando Regional Medical Center in critical condition, investigators said.

Zach Ross was released from the hospital late Wednesday night and Raw remains in the hospital in stable condition.

Ross earned Atlantic Sun Conference Pitcher-of-the-Week honors once last season and finished the year with a 19-6 record, 142 strikeouts and a team-best 1.17 ERA.

Raw, a freshman pitcher for the Gamecocks, earned the Orlando Sentinel's Seminole County Player of the Year for her efforts on the Oviedo High School softball team.

The collision ruptured one of five cases of blasting caps that were being taken from Orlando to Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle.

The family will announce funeral arrangements today.