News

In this section of our website, the Daytona Beach attorneys at Johnson & Gilbert keep clients informed of automobile and motorcycle accidents that have occurred in Polk County, Orange County, Lake County, Putnam County, Flagler County, St. Johns County, Seminole County, Osceola County and all throughout Florida.

News Category: All CategoriesCar AccidentsMotorcycle AccidentsGeneral

Car Accidents

• Deltona Pedestrian Talking on Cell Phone Walks to Her Death
  Jan 27, 2012

  Shivon Walker, 28, of Deltona, was driving her Chrysler van westbound on Howland Boulevard on December 21, at 6.20 p.m. Traveling within the 45 mph speed limit, she crossed the green lights at the Courtland Boulevard intersection. It was dark, and even though the Chrysler’s headlights were on, Walker did not see the pedestrian crossing Howland Boulevard, and hit her. The victim, Shinnique Comer, aged 26, also of Deltona, died instantly.
  When Comer crossed the road, she was talking on her cell phone, never looked up, did not see the red pedestrian light, the van, or any other vehicle in the moving traffic and kept walking to her death.
  Rachel Garay was a passenger in another vehicle riding west on Howland, that had stopped at the red light at the same intersection. When the light turned green, Garay’s car moved forward, saw Comer crossing the boulevard at the opposite end of the intersection and was able to avoid the pedestrian on account of the car’s low speed. Walker’s van, traveling in the right lane, could not stop in time and struck Comer.
  Garay later declared to the Volusia County Sheriff’s investigators that the driver of the car she was in had honked and flicked her lights, to no avail.
  The attorneys of Johnson & Gilbert send their most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Shinnique Comer following this tragic pedestrian accident in Florida.
  

• Ormond Beach Man Killed After Losing Control of Pickup Truck
  Jan 11, 2012

  The investigation has so far not been able to uncover why Trenton Turner lost control of his vehicle last Tuesday at about 9:30 p.m. Traveling southbound in the right-hand lane on Interstate 95, near State Road 40, Turner’s pickup truck started skidding on the wet pavement.
  According to Florida Highway Patrol Sgt. Kim Montes, the out-of-control Toyota truck slid across the highway’s three lanes and struck the median guardrail. Bouncing back, the pickup cut across the path of a southbound tractor-trailer. The semi-truck was in the center lane when the front end of Turner’s Toyota hit its left side.
  Turner was pronounced dead at the scene. The tractor-trailer driver, Luis Rivera, of Tampa, was unhurt.
  The attorneys of Johnson & Gilbert send their heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Trenton Turner.
  This tragic Florida accident reminds all Central Florida motorists how easily one can lose control of a vehicle in rainy weather. The coefficient of friction (COF) is what determines the grip of tires on the pavement. On a dry road good tires should have a COF of 0.7, the COF drops to 0.4 on a wet surface. In other words, when riding on a wet road drivers should be aware that they lose close to 43% of their tire traction and should reduce their speed accordingly.
  

• Florida Elders Hang On To Their Driving Privileges
  Jan 09, 2012

  Florida’s population counts a higher proportion of people aged 65 and over than most other states. A large proportion of these senior citizens do not know how to get around without a car, when they will no longer be able to drive safely. As a result, many elderly drivers keep on driving as long as possible and are at a disproportionate risk of being involved in a Florida car accident.
  The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) wants to address the issue of aging road users and create a strategy to make Florida’s roads safer. The FDOT awarded a $475,000 grant to the Pepper Institute, part of Florida State University, to study the problem and assist in establishing the strategy. According to Professor of Sociology John Reynolds, “The bottom-line measure of success for the grant from the FDOT is that we reduce the number of fatalities, injuries and crashes that involve older adults in Florida.”
  The initial survey conducted by the institute revealed that 83 percent of respondents aged 65 and older and 92 percent of those aged between 50 and 64 reported having “no transportation retirement plan.” While 23 percent declared that they would rely on family, friends and neighbors, the largest group (36 percent) said that they had no plan or had never thought about the issue. A few (4 percent) replied that they would rely on a community driver program or paratransit service.
  

• Four-Car Crash In Lake Mary Kills 1 In Jeep Fire
  Dec 29, 2011

  A four-car accident on Interstate 4 ended up in a huge fireball when a Jeep Cherokee was rear-ended and caught fire, killing its driver.
   
  Traffic was slowing down and coming to a halt on the westbound lanes of I-4 last Wednesday around 6 p.m., east of Lake Mary Boulevard. A 31-year-old woman, Chemwapuwa Jackson, of Altamonte Springs, failed to slow down her SUV and crashed into the rear of a Jeep Cherokee, which slammed into two other cars. The crash triggered an explosion, and the Cherokee burst into flames, the fire quickly spreading to the SUV behind.
   
  Emergency crews were able to extract the driver of the Cherokee, and he was transported to Orlando Regional Hospital with severe burns and in extremely critical condition.
   
  A male passenger in the Cherokee died in the fire. The occupants of the other two vehicles were not injured. Jackson was taken to Central Florida Regional Hospital in Sanford for treatment of minor injuries.
   
  A spokesperson from the Florida Highway Patrol declared that Jackson would likely be charged, but that they first had to conclude the crash investigation.
   
  The names of the occupants of the Jeep Cherokee have not been released.
   
  In an email sent to news agencies after it had been questioned on the explosion, Chrysler declared, “This was a tragic, high-speed crash with an SUV involving a Jeep Grand Cherokee that is more than 11 years old, and you have no insight into how a peer vehicle might have performed in a similar, violent, high-speed rear impact.”
  

• Daytona Beach Accidents Kill 2
  Dec 29, 2011

  Two separate accidents left two people dead in Volusia County last Saturday. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 55-year-old Philip Rizzuto, of Edgewater, driving a 2003 Ford pickup truck, entered southbound I-95 from State Road 44 at a high speed. Rizzuto lost control of the truck and crossed the west shoulder of I-95, where his truck rolled over and struck a tree.
   
  FHP spokeswoman Sgt. Kim Montes declared that the crash happened at 1.30 p.m. and is still under investigation.
   
  Montes further reported that the Florida Highway Patrol is also on the lookout for the driver of a tractor-trailer involved in a hit-and-run accident that left a 66-year-old woman dead.
   
  The accident occurred on the northbound lanes of I-95 near mile marker 274. When the tractor-trailer changed lanes, it hit a motor home towing a passenger car. The driver, Thomas Gentry, aged 66, of Titusville, lost control of the motor home and struck a sign as the vehicle entered the grass shoulder. According to FHP troopers, the camper then hit an embankment, crossed the U.S.1 entrance ramp and struck a fence.
   
  While Thomas Gentry, who was wearing a seatbelt, suffered only minor injuries, Sandra Gentry, unrestrained in the passenger seat, was killed in the crash.
   
  The attorneys of Johnson & Gilbert convey their most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of the victims.
  

• 76-Year-Old Pedestrian Dies From Injuries In Flagler Hit-And-Run Accident
  Dec 09, 2011

  Francoise Pecqueur, a native of France, had been enjoying a lively retirement in Palm Coast for several years. Last Thursday evening, she was walking north on Columbia Lane in the Palm Harbor area, just beyond Colchester Lane, when she was hit by a 2007 PT Cruiser.

  As reported by the Florida Highway Patrol, Jamesine Fischer, aged 55, driving north on Colchester, alleged that she did not see Pecqueur. The PT Cruiser’s right side hit Pecqueur, who was thrown onto the east shoulder of the road. The impact from this Florida pedestrian accident cracked the right side of the windshield and left a fabric mark on the hood. Fischer did not stop, and declared later that she thought she had hit a dog.

  When an emergency team came to the scene, they first thought the victim had fallen, but hospital staff contradicted this, saying Pecqueur’s injuries were not consistent with a fall.

  Pecqueur was taken to Halifax Hospital in Daytona Beach in critical condition, and died on Thursday.

  Later in the night, the Florida Highway Patrol began to investigate the accident and ended up at the Fischer residence, impounding the car. Charges against Jamesine Fischer are pending.

  The attorneys of Johnson & Gilbert send their warmest feelings of sympathy to the family and friends of Francoise Pecqueur.

• Justice Sought 2.5 Years After Child Was Killed In Orlando DUI Crash
  Dec 06, 2011

  John Molnar was driving his Cadillac back home in Polk County when, on Turkey Lake Road near Westgate Lakes Resorts, he struck the side of a PT Cruiser.

  In the rented PT Cruiser were Roberto Zepka and Elizabeth Manzanilla and their three children, Isabella, aged 2, Sophia, 6 and Alexander, 11. They were having a great time visiting Orlando’s numerous attractions, and had just been to Sea World.

  Isabella, in a car seat on the side where the Cadillac hit, was fatally injured. She died two days later. Alexander sustained a fractured skull and recovered. He has suffered regular panic attacks ever since the crash. Sophia has had fears of dying when going to sleep.

  Zepka, age 45, a Brazilian national, and Manzanilla, 42, a native of Venezuela, live in Durham, N.C. They have now returned to Orlando to attend a hearing for John Molnar, age 38. When Molnar was arrested after the deadly Florida crash in August 2009, he showed signs of being intoxicated. Two blood tests revealed his BAC was 0.133 and 0.129 percent, much higher than the legal limit of 0.08.

  Molnar’s records show several violations for speeding, reckless driving and drunken driving.

  He now faces charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide that could earn him up to 15 years in prison each.

• Crooks Bring Florida Car Insurance Costs Out of Control
  Dec 01, 2011

  Police arrested five people in Orlando on Thursday, suspected of filing fake car crash insurance claims. According to officials, the suspects were charged with insurance fraud, patient brokering and intentionally staging a car crash in Orange County.
  
  Lufaite Olizia, Tracey McFarlane and three other persons involved in the staged crash were booked into the Orange County jail.
  
  Fake crash claims have cost Florida drivers dearly. Average insurance bills have increased 100 percent to reach $600 per year. Most of the increase is attributed to fraud.
  
  Florida Gov. Rick Scott was in Orlando on that same day to discuss with auto insurance representatives and lawmakers possible legislation changes to modify Florida's no-fault protection system.
  
  Olizia and McFarlane allegedly promised the three other arrested suspects, Pierre Antoine Joseph, Madeline Emile and Yolande Denise Roberts, $1,000 each if they filed medical claims.
  
  They told the so-called "passengers" to obtain treatment for their supposed injuries in a health care and rehab center in Orlando.
  
  Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater declared in a news release that Florida families could not afford to spend more on insurance costs in these tough economic times. He added, "It is my mission to stamp out auto insurance fraud and to ensure these cheats who are making money off the backs of Florida drivers serve real time."
  

• Polk County Crash Kills Woman, Injures 5
  Nov 18, 2011

  Melissa Dawn Crossman, age 46, of Lake Placid, was driving a Ford Taurus northbound on U.S. 27 when she suddenly steered to the left, crossed the centerline and struck two oncoming vehicles, a blue Dodge Dynasty and beige Buick Rainier.

  The accident occurred last Friday around 4.30 p.m. north of C.R. 630 in Frostproof.

  Crossman died at the scene, while her boyfriend, Randolph Douglas Vanerzee, 46, and his son, Douglas James Vanerzee, 19, were transported to Lakeland Regional Medical Center in critical condition. Difficult weather conditions prevented airlifting by helicopter.

  The occupants of the Dodge Dynasty, Matthew John Bass, age 35, and Kylen L. Pisklo, age 33, of Sebring, suffered minor injuries and were treated at Florida Heartland Hospital. Diana Lynn Gross, age 59, of Frostproof, the driver of the Buick Rainier, sustained minor injuries and was taken to Florida Hospital Heartland Medical Center

  According to officials, alcohol did not seem to be involved in the accident. Police closed the southbound lanes of U.S. 27 until 10 p.m.

  The attorneys of Johnson & Gilbert convey their most sincere condolences to the family and friends of Melissa Dawn Crossman, and wish all injured victims of this tragic accident a speedy and full recovery.

• St. Augustine Accident Kills Port Orange Woman on I-95
  Nov 12, 2011

  Cynthia M. Meister was driving her Mercury Cougar northbound in the center lane of Interstate 95 when she suddenly steered to the right, hit a car driven by Eduard P. Kostornov, kept on traveling onto the right shoulder, and struck two trees.
  
  The Mercury's air bag was deployed under the impact but could not save Meister, aged 46, of Port Orange, who died at the scene. She had not been wearing a seat belt, according to Florida Highway Patrol officials.
  
  Kostornov, aged 42, of Sarasota, was not injured in this Florida auto accident.
  
  The attorneys of Johnson & Gilbert send their deepest feelings of sympathy to the family and friends of Cynthia M. Meister.
  
  Even though it is impossible to speculate on what difference a buckled up seat belt would have made in this case, a recent Florida Department of Transportation study has pointed out significant differences in seat belt use in various age groups, ethnic groups, by road type and vehicle type.
  
  The study also highlights a lower seat belt use in our Central region (83.5% for males and 89.2% for females), as opposed to North (85.8% for males and 90.9% for females) and South (86.3% for males and 92.6% for females).
  

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