Woman, 85, dies after Aug. 5 crash

Woman, 85, dies after

Aug. 5 crash

By JULIUS WHIGHAM II

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

A suburban Boca Raton

woman died Saturday

morning after being hit by

a car earlier this month,

the Palm Beach County

Sheriff's Office said.

Miriam ]. Link, 85, died

at Jackson Memorial Hospital

in Miami. She was

s truck Aug. 5 in the 22000

block of Camino Del Mar.

According to a sheriffs

crash report, Link was

waiting at a crosswalk to

be picked up by her caretaker,

who was driving

Link's vehicle. Delrose

M. Reynolds, 57, of Coral

Springs, backed the 2000

Lexus out of a parking

spot to get closer to Link.

But Reynolds hit the accelerator

thinking it was

the brake, the report said.

She struck Link, knocking

her to the ground.

®

Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach County

August 31, 2011

3 injured in crash on Interstate 275

One motorcyclist crashed Tuesday on Interstate 275 after turning around to watch another motorcyclist who had rammed the back of a car, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The result? Minor injuries for all drivers - and a 45-minute shutdown of all
southbound lanes near the Pasco-Hillsborough county line. The two motorcyclists
were driving south on I-275 at a high speed when they tried to pass a Ford Focus, troopers said. The motorcycle driven by Adam J. Clark, 22, of Port Richey hit the back of the Ford, which lost control and hit a concrete wall. The second motorcyclist, Benjamin C.Wigen, 21, of Lutz, turned back to look at the crash- and overturned.
Clark, Wigen and the car's driver, Christopher Tichanuk, 28, of Wesley Chapel were
taken to St. Joseph's Hospital with minor injuries.
St Petersburg Times
Pinellas County

Motorcyclist dies after crash with truck

TAMPA
Motorcyclist dies after crash with truck
A 30-year-old motorcyclist died Sunday night after a collision with a pickup.
Police said Jonathan Pearson of St. Petersburg was headed west on Kennedy Boulevard about 9:30 p.m. on a 2006 Suzuki motorcycle as Joseph Rametta, 58, was driving a 1999
Toyota pickup north on Clark Street, crossing onto Kennedy
Boulevard when he apparently failed to see Pearson.
Pearson hit the brakes and his motorcycle skidded, falling
on its left side and hitting the right side of the truck just in
front of the rear wheel, police said.
Pearson was pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital.
St Petersburg Times
Pinellas County
May 31 , 2011

School bus involved in accident

School bus involved in accident
Roger R. West
Last Thursday started out as any
other normal school day for 12-yearold
Jessica Hartman of Hilliard,
however that all changed in a blink of
the eye. Her school bus stopped on US
1 in front of Buford Grove Baptist
Church. As she made her way onto the
bus and preceded down the aisle to her
seat, a semi log hauler careened into'
the rear of the bus. Jessica was thrown
to the floor as the bus was hurled
forward from the impact. Jessica was
the only student on the bus at the time
of the accident. ·
Luckily for Jessica and the school
bus driver Janet Jones, neither received
serious injuries. Jessica was
transported to Shands Hospital by
Nassau County Fire Rescue for
precautionary measures with minor
injuries. Mrs. Jones complained only of
minor leg pain at the scene. The truck
driver was not. injured.
James Cothern of Blackshear, Georgia was driving his log truck north
on US 1 heading back to Georgia after
an early morning haul to the mill. He
stated he did not see the school bus
stopped in the road in time to stop his
rig. Cothern was charged as the at-fault
driver in the accident. The Florida
Highway Patrol reported that Mrs.
Jones had properly stopped the bus
with its warning . lights on and stop
signs deployed. •
Westside Journal
Nassau County
April 21 , 2011

1 dead in Yellow River Bridge wreck

1 dead in Yellow River Bridge wreck
By Bill Gamblin
news@srpressgazette.com
State Road 87 was closed for several
hours Friday while authorities investigated
a fatality at the Yellow River
Bridge.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol
press release, Lamar Archie, 26,
of Navarre, was pronounced dead by a
lifeguard paramedic at the scene of the
6:15 a.m. traffic accident April 8 on the
Yellow River Bridge.
The FHP release stated that Archie
was northbound on State Road 87
when, for unknown reasons, he traveled
across the center line.
Ryan Thomas Lipsey, 23, of Grand
Ridge, was headed south on State 87 in
a Peterbilt truck and moved to the right
emergency lane to avoid Archie's car.
The FHP report indicated the front
of Archie's car struck the left front of
the truck driven by Lipsey, which was ·
on the painted white "fog" line for
southbound traffic.
Lipsey refused treatment at the
scene, and charges are pending the
completion of the traffic homicide investigation.
Traffic Friday morning was being
diverted at Hickory Hammock Road on
the north side, and East Bay Boulevard
on the south side during the investigation
at the sc.ene. Alternate routes of
State 85 or the Garcon Point Bridge
were suggested by law enforcement.
The toll was not lifted to cross the
Garcon Point Bridge.
Santa Rosa Press Gazette
April 13, 2011

Police look at traffic collision, crash was in neighborhood

A 23-year-old man died Tuesday when the car in which he was a passenger smashed into a truck at high speed on a residential street in Palm Bay.

Police said Robert Alexander Williams died at the scene where a Chevrolet Impala ran into a Silverado as the truck was being backed out of a residential driveway in the 1300 block of Jupiter Boulevard.

The deadly two-vehicle crash happened about 2:30 a.m.

"The Impala was going about 100 mph before It crashed," said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Palm Bay Police Department.

The driver of the Impala identified as Scott Bradford Williams, 22 -was airlifted to Holmes Regional Medical Center. Police said the driver was not related to the victim. Two other crash victims­ Adam Beyer, the 19-year-old driver of the truck, and 18-year-old Katlynn Stone­ were taken by ambulance to a hospital.

Patrol officers along with paramedics from Palm Bay Fire-Rescue tended to the four injured people at the site.

An investigation is ongoing.

Florida Today Brevard County Daily 72,650

April 7, 2011

Car Slams Into School Bus

Workers pull a mangled car from under a school bus Thursday near the intersection of U.S.17 and Golf Course Boulevard, east of Punta Gorda. Officials say the driver of the car suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash. Two of the approximately 40 East Elementary School students on the bus were taken to a local hospital with minor injuries.

Seven-year-old Cierra Deel, a second-grader at East Elementary, was seated near the back of the bus when the crash occurred. Cierra said she felt the car slam into the bus, forcing several of her schoolmates onto the floor and aisle. “I was scared a lot," she said, wearing a brave smile. "But I was sitting with my friend and be was protecting me." Cierra was checked over by paramedics at the scene as her worried parents looked on. All three shed a few tears during their hugged-filled reunion.

The second-grader bashfully admitted that she also cried as she watched one of her friends taken by ambulance to a local hospital. "She hurt her back. She was struck hard and then fell on the floor," Cierra said.

She and all other students not taken to the hospital were brought back to East Elementary School located just blocks from the crash scene on Fairway Drive, with parents advised of the news through the district's automated phone alert system, Parent Link.

Peggy McQueen's 11-year-old grandchild called her frantically after the crash. The Charlotte County woman sped to the scene as quickly as she could, still dressed only in her pajamas. "They're all pretty shook up," McQueen said of the students as she headed back to her car. "My heart is still racing too."

Several distressed parents arrived at the scene, scanning the dozens of children grouped together in a grassy area off the north side ofU.S.17. Many were escorted by law enforcement and school officials across the busy highway to be reunited with their children. After a while, though, parents and other family members were instructed to head to the school as law enforcement and school officials boarded the students onto a different bus that was headed back to East Elementary. That frustrated a few parents, who didn't know at first whether their child was one of the few transported to a hospital. Mike Riley, spokesman for district, said alerts were sent out to parents immediately once radio dispatch called in and reported the crash. Naturally, the alerts were beaten, time wise, by cell phone calls from those at the scene, Riley said.

Emergency workers and school officials keep a watch on dozens of East Elementary School students uninjured in a school bus crash Thursday in Punta Gorda. Two students were taken to Peace River Regional Medical Center with minor injuries. Four other students also suffered "very minor injuries” officials said.

However, many parents first received news of the crash from their frightened children themselves, as many of the older students called their families on their cell phones.

Several parents at the scene expressed concerns that the bus route included crossing the intersection of U.S. 17and Golf Course Boulevard, an intersection without a traffic light that many said is dangerous and prone to collisions. Riley said bus routes are thoughtfully mapped out, with officials utilizing a number of computer programs that review traffic flow, lights and congestion. He said he couldn't recall a past school bus accident at this intersection, but that the district would review it, citing the district's top concern for student safety.

Texting While Driving Getting National Attention

Text messaging while driving has become a daily distraction for a generation of drivers hooked on instant communication...and a menace to others on the road.

Last year, heather Hurd, 26, and Stephanie Phills, 37, died when a truck driver, reaching for his hand-held device to text hist office, rammed into traffic at a stoplight on U.S. 27 in Central Florida, causing a 10-car pileup, police said. The driver was cited for careless driving, a noncriminal offense that carries a $500 fine.

In may, a truant Tampa, Fla., high school student slammed into a patrol car while texting. She caused $3,000 in damage but no injuries.

In New York, texting is considered the likely cause of a crash that killed five cheerleaders last year. And in April, a California woman was sentenced to six years in prison for killing a woman in a car accident...caused by texting while driving.

This reckless behavior, is by no means, an isolated problem.

In a previously unreleased report, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration revealed last month that in 2002 there were 955 deaths and 240,000 crashes attributable to drivers using cellphones - either texting or talking. That was before texting became a true phenomenon.

This past week, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute reported that texting while driving is 23 times more dangerous than driving fully alert.

There are 14 states that make it illegal to send a text message while driving, but Florida isn't one of them. State Rep. Doug Holder of Sarasota filed a bill recently to make it illegal to read or type on any mobile device while behind the wheel in Florida.

For a more detailed look please visit: http://www.philly.com/philly/business/technology/080409_texting_while_driving.html

If you've been injured in an automobile accident please call our office 24/7 for a free case evaluation- 1-866-LAW-FRAN. For more information please visit http://www.lawfran.com

Dog Bite Prevention

Every year, more than 500 Florida residents sustain dog bite injuries severe enough to require hospitalization, and two Floridians die due to injuries from dog bites. Injury rates in Florida are highest among children between the ages of one and nine years old. However, dog bites can also result in serious injuries for teenagers and adults. In 2006, three Florida residents 25 years or older died as a result of dog attacks.

Studies show that unneutered (intact) male dogs are associated with 70-76 percent of reported dog bites, emphasizing the importance of neutering pets. The number of dog bite injuries increases during the months of April through September, with the peak occurring in July. We encourage everyone to consider the following safety tips when interacting with dogs and thank all of the responsible pet owners for taking the appropriate steps to control and vaccinate their pets.

Safety tips for children and adults:
-Never approach an unfamiliar dog.
-Never run from a dog and never scream around a dog.
-If you believe a dog is about to attack you, try and place something in between yourself and the dog, such as a backpack or a bicycle.
-If a dog knocks you over, roll into a ball, cover your face and stay still.
-Do not disturb a dog that is sleeping, eating or caring for puppies.
-Children should never approach or play with dogs unless supervised by an adult.
-Children should tell an adult if they see a stray dog or a dog acting strangely.
-Adults should never leave an infant or young child alone with any dog, not even the family pet.

When you or your child approach a dog, remember to:
-Ask the owner for permission to pet the animal.
-Wait and watch the dog's body language.
-Let the pet sniff you.
-Pet the dog in the direction of its fur.

When any animal bite occurs, the bite victim should seek medical attention immediately.

For more information and additional tips visit: http://www.suwanneedemocrat.com/suwannee/local_story_197081455.html?keyword=topstory

If you've been injured as a result of a dog bite please call our office 24/7 for a free case evaluation. 1-866-Law-Fran For more information please visit http://lawfran.com/

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