Escambia County FL Accident: Pickup truck vs. motorcycle crash killed 1, hurt 1
A violent weekend motor vehicle collision (MVC) involving a motorcycle and pickup truck resulted in one fatality. The deadly accident occurred in Escambia County, Florida on Saturday, May 8, 2010, according to information provided by the Pensacola News Journal.
Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) authorities stated 28-year-old motorist, Timothy Freitas, was traveling westbound on Nine Mile Road when he attempted to make a left turn onto Scenic Highway. Upon doing so, his pickup truck drove into the path of an eastbound motorcycle. The pickup truck and motorcycle collided, ejecting 45-year-old motorcyclist Gary Warrington and his 34-year-old passenger Amber Bixler. Bixler reportedly landed in the bed on the truck after being thrown from the bike.
While emergency medical personnel responded to the scene to transport those injured to area hospitals, Warrington was killed in the motorcycle wreck. Bixler was taken to Sacred Heart Hospital in serious condition. Neither Warrington nor Bixler were wearing helmets at the time. Freitas did not suffer any injuries in the pickup truck-motorcycle crash.
It was not stated if any controlled substances and/or speed appeared to be factors in the collision. FHP troopers are expected to continue their investigation into the fatal motorcycle-involved accident.
Officer hits parked cars in attempt to stop red-light runner
A Holly Hill police corporal destroyed his cruiser and damaged property at two businesses early Wednesday after he tried to stop a motorist who sped through a red light on Ridgewood Avenue, Police Chief Mark Barker said.
Cpl. Rodney Erdman, a three-year veteran with the department, spotted a dark-colored sport utility vehicle speeding north on Ridgewood Avenue just after 1 a.m., Barker said. The officer tried to stop the vehicle after the driver blew through a red light at Ridgewood and Flomich Street.
But as Erdman followed the SUV the driver swerved somewhat, which prompted Erdman to take evasive action of his own, Barker said.
“He went across another lane and over the curb and his car struck two other cars at the All-Star Auto sales,” Barker said. “There was considerable damage to the cars and the patrol car was totaled.”
Erdman suffered cuts to his arm and abrasions from the exploding airbag in his vehicle, Barker said. He was treated and released from Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
Property at the used car lot and the neighboring lawyer’s office didn’t fare so well.
“They just left the debris from the damaged cars all over our lot,” said Michelle Gallas, a legal assistant in the law office of James Ledford, adding a new fence and plumbing was damaged at the office.
Rocco Picerno, owner of All-Star Auto, said he’s happy the officer wasn’t badly hurt but isn’t thrilled about the mess he was left to clean at his lot. He also questions what happened.
“We were just talking about this,” he said. “If you’re pulling someone over, you’re behind them. How does him swerving end up with officer ramming into (the cars).”
Barker speculated that Erdman was behind a short distance, but said the Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash. He said the city of Holly Hill’s insurance would cover the damages. FHP Sgt. Kim Montes said the crash information was unavailable Wednesday afternoon.
The chief said Erdman is a fine officer who was just presented the Crime Stoppers of Northeast Florida Spirit of Law Enforcement award and the American Legion named him officer of the year for apprehending a suspect who raped a young girl.
Barker said he believes the speeding motorist was later arrested in Ormond Beach, but he had no details on the arrest or the suspect’s name Wednesday.
“I’m not sure whether they were able to link him to this accident,” Barker said. “It was someone who matched the description.”
Barker said his department would wait to see the FHP report to determine if any other action is warranted.
One injured in accident on State Road A1A
An Indialantic man faces misdemeanor charges after police say he ran a red light Wednesday afternoon and struck a pickup pulling onto State Road A1A across from Second Light Beach.
Sean Chapman, 33, was cited on counts of running a red light and failure to carry a driver’s license after his Dodge Ram 2500 causing a car accident with the driver’s side of a GMC Sonoma driven by Kevin Muhs, 46, of Orlando.
After arriving at 4:35 p.m., crews from the Air Force and Brevard County Fire-Rescue cut off the GMC’s roof and extracted Muhs within 20 minutes. Muhs, listed in critical but stable condition, was seen moving his arms and talking with rescue personnel. At 5:10 p.m., he was flown by helicopter to the hospital.
“He should be OK,” said Trooper Nick Huckabee of the Florida Highway Patrol.
Chapman was not injured, and there were no passengers. Huckabee said both drivers were wearing seat belts.
Huckabee said Chapman was driving south in the left lane within the speed limit when Muhs turned left from the gate to Patrick Air Force Base.
Chapman “thought he had a green light,” Huckabee said.
Chapman’s large pickup pushed Muhs’ vehicle several feet into the northbound lanes. The wreck backed up northbound traffic for about an hour and a half. The scene, which drew onlookers from the beach, was cleared about 6 p.m.
Florida Boater Admits He Was Drinking Before Fatal Crash
An arrest report shows that the driver of a boat involved in a fatal accident in Delray Beach told police he was drinking while behind the wheel.
Mandy Romeu told police he had four drinks before the crash. The 42-year-old said he was “crushed” about the outcome and now he will “have to pay the price.” Records show he has no previous boating violations or citations.
Romeu was charged with vessel homicide, reckless operation of a vehicle and violation of navigational rules. He was released from jail on Monday after posting bond.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission says he crashed a boat into a navigation marker in the Intracoastal Waterway early Saturday. It was not yet clear if the area had speed restrictions.
Pedestrian struck, killed by train in Plant City
Plant City police are investigating a fatal accident where a train hit a pedestrian on Wheeler Road.
It appears to be a slow moving freight train, no one on board was injured.
Wheeler Road at Renfro is closed as the investigation continues.
Onalaska men injured in Florida boating accident
Friends of an Onalaska man severely injured in a boating accident in Florida are planning a prayer service for him.
35-year-old Jason Baldner of Onalaska is still in critical condition Wednesday after the accident Saturday in Cape Coral, Florida.
The driver of the boat, 36-year-old Jason Williams, an Onalaska native currently living in Cape Coral, has been upgraded to good condition. Another man on the boat, 31-year-old Eric Terpsma of Cape Coral, has also been upgraded to good condition.
A non-denominational prayer service will be held for Jason Baldner Wednesday at Holmen Lutheran Church at 5:30 p.m.
Florida Man charged with DUI in van-bus accident
The Florida Highway Patrol has charged a Pensacola man with drunken driving and driving with an expired license after he crashed his van into an Escambia County school bus.
David Magrino, 48, also was charged with failure to maintain a single lane after the driver’s side of his van struck the rear driver’s side of the bus, which was headed west on West Avery Street on Tuesday, the FHP said.
A witness told troopers that Magrino veered off the road as he headed east on Green Street then steered back onto road hitting the bus.
There were five Pine Forest High School students on the bus, and one suffered minor injuries. The bus driver’s assistant, Virginia Evans, 58, also suffered minor injures, the FHP said. The driver of the bus, Anna Marie Bingham, 42, and the other four students aboard were not injured.
Driver error caused fatal accident
The accident in which Doug Garrity was killed in March 2009 was caused by driver error, according to testimony this morning from a traffic accident reconstruction expert.
Prosecutors are attempting to prove at trial this week that the driver was former Braden River High School football coach Josh Hunter, and that he was drunk at the time of the accident on an Interstate 75 on-ramp in south Sarasota County. If Hunter is found guilty of DUI manslaughter, he faces up to 15 years in prison for the death of Garrity, his friend and assistant coach at Braden River.
Testifying for the prosecution, the expert, Gary Stephens, said driver error caused the accident. After reviewing the accident scene and the Florida Highway Patrol’s traffic homicide report, Stephens said he found that:
- There was no evidence that the driver had taken evasive action to avoid hitting an animal.
- There was no evidence that the driver had hit the brakes before the accident.
- The driver over-corrected both to the left and to the right, before the pickup truck overturned and went airborne.
Garrity was ejected from the vehicle and later died. Hunter and two other passengers, his brother James and Matt Braselton were not seriously injured.
James Hunter is currently in jail because he has refused to testify about whether his brother was driving at the time of the accident, and Braselton testified Wednesday he does not remember who was driving.
However, a state trooper testified that Braselton told him after the accident that Josh Hunter had been driving.
Authorities said a blood test taken two hours after the accident showed that Josh Hunter had a blood alcohol content of .21, almost three times the legal limit of .08 in Florida.
Dump truck rollover snarls I-93 traffic
A dump truck rolled over this morning on Interstate 93 North, seriously injuring the driver and spilling its load of mulch. The crash caused lengthy traffic delays on a major artery into Boston.
The accident occurred near Exit 6 in Braintree. At least three lanes are currently closed, and troopers are trying to open the breakdown lane to help traffic flow, State Police said. The entire roadway was shut down for a short time.
The accident happened around 9:30 a.m., and the traffic jam has been getting worse since then, said Adam Parchesky, a traffic reporter for the SmartRoutes traffic information service.
“It’s a complete standstill,” Parchesky said.Traffic is tied up to East Street in the Dedham/Westwood area, said Jeff Larson, general manager of SmartRoutes. “That’s a pretty significant back-up,” he said. “It’s pretty well jammed.”
The driver was taken to Boston Medical Center.
Florida Tops Nation For Car/Truck Accident Scams
Chalk up another dubious distinction for the Sunshine State. Florida now leads the nation when it comes to auto insurance fraud.
While it’s not a new problem in the state it has become worse as residents struggle with the recession and high unemployment. The most common scams involve owners dumping their vehicles in canals because they can no longer afford to pay their bills.
More recently rings began staging accidents so they could bill insurance companies for millions of dollars in bogus claims. According to the National Insurance Crime Bureau, from 2007 to 2009 there were 511 staged accidents in Miami, 562 in Tampa and 422 in Orlando. The NICB adds that nearly one out of every four phony car accidents in the U.S. came out of Florida.
Staged accidents have become such a problem that the NICB has videos on its website to expose how these carefully choreographed scams work.
The financial losses to the insurance companies have been tremendous and the problem is reportedly getting worse.
There have been more than two dozen arrests statewide this year alone for scams involving phony accidents and no one expects this pace to slow down anytime soon.
