2009 November Archive
Charges Pending in Fatal Florida Motorcycle Accident
A Florida motorcycle accident in early November that claimed the life of a Gulf Breeze man has resulted in charges for an 18-year-old Navarre woman. The Northwest Florida Daily News reports that the accident occurred late in the afternoon on Nov. 2, 2009, on State Road 87. The 64-year-old motorcycle accident victim was pronounced dead at the accident scene after his 2004 Honda motorcycle struck the right side of a Chevrolet Tahoe that turned in front of him.
Orlando Metro Area Ranked Worst in the Country for Pedestrian Accidents
The Orlando Sentinel reported what many people living in Central Florida have known for years—the Orlando metropolitan area has the most dangerous streets in the United States for pedestrians in metro areas with at least one million people. The Transportation for America and the Surface Transportation Policy Partnership issued a report recently that didn’t surprise one area science teacher who routinely runs and rides her bicycle in the area.
Posted in: Pedestrian Accident
Tags: Central Florida Counties, Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles, Orlando Pedestrian Accident, Pedestrian Accident, Pedestrian Accident Victims, Pedestrian Fatalities, Pedestrian Injury, Surface Transportation Policy Partnership, Transportation for America
Four-Year-Old Girl Severely Injured in Amusement Park Accident
The Orlando Sentinel reported that an Orlando amusement park accident severely injured a four-year-old girl. According to eyewitnesses, the girl was riding in a golf cart with her father at Disney’s Fort Wilderness when the golf cart overturned, partially pinning the girl underneath and causing serious injuries. The article reports that the Orlando amusement park accident occurred around 10:30 p.m. when the girl’s 37-year-old father swerved to avoid colliding with another golf cart that was heading towards them with no lights on.
Prominent Lake County Man Involved in Fatal Motorcycle Accident
A prominent and very well known Lake County attorney is under investigation for his involvement in a fatal motorcycle accident near Mount Dora. The lawyer’s company won approval for a huge development called the Hills of Minneola in 2008. The attorney is suspected of striking and killing a Mount Dora man while making a left turn into the path of the motorcycle the man was riding. Officials with the Florida Highway Patrol said that the 61-year-old victim was riding his Harley-Davidson motorcycle around 8:50 p.m. when the motorcycle accident occurred east of Mount Dora at the intersection of Majestic Oaks Drive and Wolf Branch Road. The collision pushed the victim’s motorcycle onto Majestic Oaks Drive.
FWC Urges Boaters to Follow Safety Rules
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission urge boaters and their passengers to take a refresher course in boating safety for everyone’s benefit. Florida’s waterways and coasts offer some of the best recreational boating in the country. However, on too many occasions the operators of watercraft fail to honor their responsibilities and drink alcohol to the excess while on the water, don’t observe speed and wake restrictions and people are hurt and killed.
Under Florida law, it is illegal to operate a vessel of any kind while impaired by alcohol and other drugs. An operator suspected of boating under the influence must submit to sobriety tests and a physical or chemical test to determine blood-alcohol content. As with motor vehicle sobriety laws, a vessel operator is legally drunk with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent or above.
Posted in: Boating Accident
Tags: Boating Accident, Boating Safety, Boating Under the Influence, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Florida Law, Florida Waterways, Impaired by Alcohol, Impaired by Drugs, Irresponsible Boat Operators, Reckless Operation, Recreational Boating, Willful Disregard
Drivers Distracted by Cell Phones Not Yet Addressed by Florida Legislature
Recently, there has been plenty of media coverage and evidence to indicate that driving while texting or talking on a cell phone significantly reduces a driver’s ability to focus on driving their vehicle. All these telecommunications devices are wonderful, but multiple studies have shown that talking or texting while driving is far more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol. In Florida, a very disturbing and increasingly common cause of car accidents is drivers distracted by talking or texting on their cell phone. Stop at any stoplight and at least half of the drivers around you will be talking on their phones. Florida has not banned the use of cell phones while driving. Florida Senate Bill 172, or “Heather’s Law”, which would have restricted the use of cell phones while driving-died in committee in May 2009. The existing law simply states that drivers must keep their vehicles under control. However, given the rising number of accidents from distracted drivers from minor fender benders to horrible head-on collisions, it is in everyone’s best interests that Florida’s lawmakers pass legislation with some teeth in it to discourage cell phone use while driving.
Dog Bite Changes Florida Woman’s Life
The victim of a Florida dog bite saw the blood coming from her foot and ankle, but said the fact that a dog had attacked her didn’t seem real while it was happening to her. This article recently published in Florida Today accounted a dog bite attack that severely injured a 73-year-old Geneva woman. The dog attack resulted in the victim having a crushed left ankle and a left foot that was dangling from her leg by a few pieces of skin.
“It was emotionally difficult for me,” the 73-year-old Geneva resident said. “But I’ve accepted it…now I’m just grateful for every day I can get around and do something.”
