"Pasco man dies after motorcycle crash in Brooksville"

A 57-year-old New Port Richey man died Thursday after suffering injuries in a motorcycle crash near downtown Brooksville on Wednesday afternoon, police said.

Steven L. Millard was traveling west on E Jefferson Street near Asmara Street at about 4 p.m. when he lost control trying to negotiate a turn, according to the Brooksville Police Department. Millard left the roadway, struck a street sign and was thrown from the motorcycle.

He was flown to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa with serious injuries. The cause of death was listed as blunt force trauma, police said.

An investigation continued Thursday afternoon.

For more information please visit: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/pasco-man-dies-after-motorcycle-crash-in-brooksville/1155080

"Fewer scams, lower rates: End state's reputation as the national center of auto insurance fraud"

You don't find Florida's consumer advocates and Florida's insurance companies holding hands very often, but they have become best buddies in the fight to end the state's reputation as the national center of auto insurance fraud.

According to the insurance industry, Tampa, Miami and Orlando are three of four leading cities for fraud, after New York. The industry further estimates that auto insurance fraud in Florida is a $1 billion business that adds roughly $100 to the premium of a family with two cars. Even if the industry's figures aren't precise, Florida Consumer Action Network Director Bill Newton has it right when he says, "If we can control fraud, everybody benefits."

Florida is vulnerable to such fraud because of the state's no-fault auto insurance law, passed nearly four decades ago. The goal was admirable: to settle claims from minor crashes out of court. Scammers, though, game the system by staging accidents, recruiting "victims" who get phony treatment at bogus clinics. Auto fraud is not a new issue for the Legislature, but the recent surge in no-fault claims - an estimated 46 percent increase between 2008 and 2010 - prompted creation of the Sunshine Alliance to Erase Fraud

A comprehensive anti-fraud bill is being drafted, with the sponsors to be Sen. Ellen Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale, and Rep. Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton. The main provisions will include a requirement that police take names of all passengers in a crash - to determine who was truly injured - a warning on applications for clinics' licenses that fraud is a crime, and the ability of insurers to interview, under oath, all claimants from a crash . The bill should not be confused with House Bill 967, which aims to reduce attorneys' fees in no-fault cases.

Prosecutors also can play a role. When Miami-Dade County State Attorney Katherine Fernandez-Rundle assigned one prosecutor strictly to auto fraud, industry analysts believe, scam operations shifted to Tampa. The goal, though, is not just to keep scammers on the run but to put them out of business. Florida is also home to plenty of Medicare and Medicaid scams, but the state needs to work with the federal government in cracking those rings. With auto fraud, Florida is in the driver's seat.

For more information please visit: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/opinion/editorials/fewer-scams-lower-rates-end-states-reputation-as-1296217.html?cxtype=rss_editorials

"DeLand motorcyclist killed after car pulls out in front of him, troopers say"

A DeLand man riding a motorcycle was killed tonight when a car pulled out in front of him, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

John Henshaw, 68, was riding his Harley-Davidson north on Woodland Boulevard about 7:35 p.m. when a Mercury sedan on Woodland drove into his path at Robinhood Drive, trooper said.

Henshaw struck the side of the car and was killed. The other driver, Timothy Ackley, 18, of DeLand, was taken to the Florida Hospital DeLand for minor injuries.

A 16-year-old passenger in the Mercury, Jarred Hill of Deland, also had minor injuries, the FHP said.

For more information please visit: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/volusia/os-deland-motorcycle-death-20110303,0,3650602.story

"Two Killed When Motorcycles Collide"

Authorities said two people died after a pair of motorcycles crashed into each other.

The Florida Highway Patrol said the drivers of both motorcycles were trying to avoid hitting a trailer-toting truck in front of them and they ended up colliding. FHP identified the victims of Saturday night's crash as 48-year-old Kevin Winne of Winter Springs, who was one of the motorcycle drivers, and 46-year-old Teresa Madden of Oviedo, who was a passenger on the other motorcycle.

Authorities are still investigating and charges are pending.

For more information please visit: http://www.theledger.com/article/20110306/NEWS/103065039/1018/sports?Title=-geneva-

"Motorcyclist killed in Suwannee crash"

Live Oak — A Lake City man died early Saturday in a Suwannee County motorcycle crash, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

Robert Stone Grice, 28, was traveling northeast on CR 250 at 12:10 a.m. when his 1999 Honda entered the right shoulder after failing to negotiate a left curve, according to FHP. The left handlebar clipped an informational sign post, after which the motorcycle overturned and struck a wire fence.

Grice, who was wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene, said FHP.

For more information please visit: http://suwanneedemocrat.com/suwannee/x831627936/Motorcyclist-killed-in-Suwannee-crash

"Truck driver arrested two days after rig hit I-75 bridge"

WESLEY CHAPEL — The semitrailer truck driver who crashed into a bridge on Interstate 75 Monday and left the scene was arrested Wednesday afternoon, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

Troopers said Kenneth E. Cannon, 45, of Ruskin, was hauling a large backhoe north on I-75 when the piece of equipment struck the overhead span at Overpass Road at about noon Monday. The collision caused debris to fall onto the road, damaging two cars and creating a backup that stretched to State Road 56, the FHP said.

A passenger in the one of the vehicles suffered minor injuries and was hospitalized, the Highway Patrol said.

On Wednesday, investigators received an anonymous tip that led them to the backhoe Cannon delivered 30 minutes after the collision. Then they found Cannon at his job, Got Trucking, on U.S. 41 in Ruskin, troopers reported.

Cannon was booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on one count of leaving the scene of a crash with injury, three counts of leaving the scene of a crash with property damage and providing false information for a crash report. He was being held at the jail Wednesday night in lieu of $3,000 bail.

for more information please visit: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/troopers-truck-driver-arrested-two-days-after-rig-hits-i-75-bridge/1154932

"Pedestrian struck, seriously injured on East Bay Drive"

LARGO — A pedestrian was struck by a vehicle and seriously injured Wednesday night on East Bay Drive, authorities said.

The accident occurred just after 10 p.m. near Lions Club Road, according to police officials. The pedestrian, who was not immediately identified, was taken to Bayfront Medical Center as a trauma alert patient, authorities said. Largo police are investigating.

For more information please visit: http://www.tampabay.com/news/publicsafety/accidents/pedestrian-struck-seriously-injured-on-east-bay-drive/1154959

"Motorcyclist Killed in Wreck Near Polk City"

POLK CITY | A Groveland man was killed early today when his motorcycle collided with a van that turned in front of him, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.

Randall K. Neavin, 48, was riding his 2001 Harley-Davidson south on State Road 33 near Double Diamond Road in Polk City about 5:10 a.m. when the accident occurred, according to a Sheriff's Office release.

Roberto Quinnes, 64, also of Groveland, was driving a 2000 Mazda MPV minivan south on SR 33 ahead of Neavin, the release said, and when Quinnes realized he had missed his turn, pulled off the right shoulder and then tried to make a U-turn.

Neavin came around a curve, saw the minivan and tried to stop, but he hit the driver's side door, the release said. He was wearing a helmet but died at the scene.

Quinnes wasn't injured, the release said.

The investigation is ongoing.

For more information please visit: http://www.theledger.com/article/20110304/NEWS/110309861/1410?Title=Motorcyclist-Killed-in-Wreck-Near-Polk-City

"Auto insurance fraud crackdown in Miami-Dade"

When the owner of a West Miami-Dade medical clinic schemed to bill insurance companies for staged auto accidents, she did not know that an undercover witness was secretly recording her, authorities say.

“Bring me good stuff,” Elsa Terrero, of New Horizon Practice, told a cooperating witness, according to an arrest warrant released Wednesday. “I control all the clinics in this building … you will get paid.”

Terrero was one of 25 people — including three doctors — charged Wednesday in a crackdown on “personal injury protection” fraud in Miami-Dade that officials say costs insurances companies millions of dollars each year, and ultimately raises rates for consumers. Terrero’s scam cost insurance companies nearly $800,000, though the amount is likely much more, officials said.

“This is not a clinic. This is a fraud mill,” Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater said at a press conference Wednesday.

“Many people see the insurance fraud as a victimless crime. It is not,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.

The ring was cracked by detectives from the state’s Department of Financial Services fraud division, and Miami-Dade prosecutors. PIP insurance pays for up to $10,000 in medical bills and lost wages, and Florida ranks as one of the top states in the country for staged auto accident fraud.

Terrero, 40, is charged with racketeering, grand theft, organized scheme to defraud and a slew of other felonies. The others face similar charges.

The undercover investigation began in November 2009 when a man named Martin Triana, secretly working with detectives, agreed to stage an auto accident at a red light in Liberty City, according to an arrest warrant.

Triana later went to the clinic, 7171 Coral Way, where he signed 25 blank therapy forms, which would later be submitted to insurance companies, and was later X-rayed by an unlicensed technician. Later visits resulted in no treatment, the warrant said.

The clinic later billed State Farm insurance for 40 therapy sessions. The clinic also billed the company for three visits with Dr. Gerald Amado, who never examined Triana; the doctor was arrested Wednesday.

Triana later recruited a man named Miguel Hernandez, who was actually an undercover detective using a fake identity. Hernandez played along in another bogus accident, the warrant said, and the result was that clinic billed Imperial Fire & Casualty Insurance Company for $20,225.24.

For more information please visit: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/02/2094346/auto-insurance-fraud-crackdown.html

"1 airlifted in wreck"

BIG PINE KEY: One person was airlifted to Miami and another taken to the hospital after a motorcycle and car crashed about 7 p.m. Wednesday on Big Pine Key, the Sheriff's Office said.

Two people were on the motorcycle, but it was unclear from reports whom was injured. The airlifted person was taken to Ryder Trauma Center in Miami and the other to Fishermen's Hospital in Marathon, reports say.

Traffic was delayed for about an hour, according to the Sheriff's Office.

The Florida Highway Patrol was investigating.

For more information please visit: http://keysnews.com/node/30225

"Hudson woman dies after being hit by truck on U.S. 19"

A Hudson woman was killed as she walked along U.S. Highway 19 on Tuesday evening, the Florida Highway Patrol said.

According to a report, about 7:48 p.m. Jaculine D. Wakefield, 39, was walking across the southbound lanes of U.S. 19 south of Sanderling Lane, crossing the path of a 2004 Dodge Ram PK.

The right front of truck struck her. She was taken to Bayonet Point Hospital, where she died, the patrol said.

The driver of the truck, Jerry B. Jordan, 64, of Dunedin was not injured.

The incident remains under investigation. Witnesses are asked to contact Cpl. D.L. Frye at (352) 797-5737.

For more information please visit: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41862011/ns/local_news-tampa_fl/

"Motorcycle, pickup strike different building along Jefferson Street"

BROOKSVILLE - Jessica Varner said she keeps the blinds down in her office because she got tired of seeing all the accidents taking place along West Jefferson Street.

The one that occurred Wednesday afternoon was only a few steps away from her desk, she said.

Shortly before 4 p.m., a white Dodge pickup truck smashed against the front portion of the office building at 303 W. Jefferson St., according to the Brooksville Police Department.

Varner, an administrative assistant at Combs Services Inc., said she heard a collision outside. As soon as she backed away from her desk, she heard a louder boom and felt the building shake.

"Everybody's OK," she said over the phone a half-hour after the crash. "There are some bumps and bruises."

Moments later, Stephen L. Miller, 55, of New Port Richey, crashed his motorcycle into a tire shop building at 1360 E. Jefferson St., said Brooksville Police Chief George Turner.

Miller was airlifted to a Tampa-area hospital.

"His injuries are very serious," Turner said.

Turner said a wrecker was called to the scene at Combs Service and a building inspector also would be summoned to review the damage.

The driver of the Dodge, who did not want to be identified, said she swerved off the road to avoid hitting a passing Mitsubishi SUV.

Police officers stayed for only a few minutes at the first accident before heading toward the other side of town to respond to the motorcycle wreck, Turner said.

Combs Service is an appliance repair shop located near the corner of South Bailey Avenue.

Varner said the truck didn't penetrate the wall, but "knocked it loose."

For more information please visit: http://www2.hernandotoday.com/content/2011/mar/02/021905/motorcycle-pickup-strike-different-buildings-along/