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.
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.
Woman killed, husband injured in train-car crash
A tragic motor vehicle/train crash that happened in Shreveport Saturday afternoon has left an elderly woman dead and her husband injured.
The crash took place just after 4:30 PM at the railroad tracks just north of Highway 3132 near the intersection of Ashley Ridge Boulevard and Line Avenue in South Shreveport. It involved a Union Pacific locomotive and a Chrysler Concord.
The passenger, has been identified as Marion Hirsch, 86, of Shreveport. She was pronounced dead at the scene by the Caddo Parish Coroner’s office. Her 92-year-old husband, who was driving at that time, was transported to LSUHC with non-life threatening injuries and is expected to make a full recovery.
Preliminary on-scene investigation reports say that the driver drove the vehicle into the side of a moving train. The exact cause of the accident is still under investigation by the Shreveport Police Department to determine exactly what factors contributed to this crash.
The impact from the collision caused at least 200 gallons of diesel fuel to leak from the train prompting Union Pacific Railroad to commission a clean-up crew from North Little Rock to remove the spilled combustible from the area; this spill does not pose a health hazard to the community.
Lake Worth man dies in rollover crash on Florida’s Turnpike
A tow truck driver who tried to make an illegal U-turn on Florida’s Turnpike Monday caused a crash that killed the driver of a van and shut down the major roadway’s southbound lanes in Boynton Beach for two hours, the Florida Highway Patrol said.
The 11:15 a.m. crash happened about four miles north of Atlantic Avenue when a southbound tow truck slowed on the turnpike in order to make an illegal U-turn, the FHP said.
The tow truck pulled into the median but the rear of the truck remained protruding into the traffic lanes. A van driving behind the truck collided with it and rolled over.
The van’s driver, Anthony Giardina, 32, of suburban Lake Worth, died at the scene. He was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash, according to an FHP news release.
The tow truck driver was identified as Mark Walter Edwards, 42, of West Palm Beach. He was not injured. The FHP said the case is still being investigated and charges in the crash are pending.
The crash caused the complete closing of the turnpike’s southbound lanes for about two hours.
A passenger in the Ford truck, Todd Kocher, 45, of Boynton Beach, was taken to Delray Medical Center to be treated for injuries.
Drugs or alcohol were not believed to be factors in the crash.
