DaveInDaytona
Pro
Posts: 1696
|
posted September 07, 2004 05:39 PM
Hurricane Don'ts
Don't go on a high speed double date ride down a dark road after a hurricane.
Four DeLand bikers die in crash with downed tree
STAFF REPORT
Last update: Sept. 7, 2004
DELAND - Two men and two women were killed early today when their two motorcyles skidded and slipped over a downed tree on North Orange Avenue at approximately 5:30 a.m.
A News-Journal newspaper carrier found the four bodies and flagged down paramedics at Florida Hospital in DeLand.
All four were pronounced dead on the scene, Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Kim Miller said. While an exact time of death could not be determined, the four could have been dead for as many as eight hours before they were found, said Miller. Investigators assumed the four died instantly.
The two women, who officers believe were passengers on the motorcycles, wore helmets. The men, who were both 21, did not. The names of the riders have not been released pending notification of next of their families.
Paramedics found the two motorcycles and four victims entangled in a downed tree, EVAC spokesman Mark O'Keefe said. The motorcycle engines were cool to touch when paramedics arrived, O'Keefe said.
The motorcycles left 147 feet of skid marks before hitting the tree , Miller said. Miller said speed is believed to be a factor. Because of loss of power , there was no visible light on the road except for the motorcycles' headlights, Miller said.
O'Keefe encouraged residents to observe local curfews.
"We recognize that some people view them as inconvenient and even a control issue, but with all the debris in the road from power lines to trees to actual pieces of structure, it's difficult to see in daylight let alone in the middle of the night."
I talked to someone that was at the scene. Both bikes and the bodies were on the other side of the tree. There were skid marks up to the impact area.
Don't stay on your tied up small sailboat during a hurricane.
Police discover body in submerged boat in Flagler Beach
STAFF REPORT
Last update: Sept. 7, 2004
FLAGLER BEACH The body of a 77-year-old man who Flagler Beach police say tried to ride out Hurricane Frances on his sailboat in the Intracoastal Waterway was recovered today by Flagler County Sheriff's divers, authorities said.
John Hawley, who lived on the boat, had weathered other storms on the vessel and tried to do it again, Flagler Beach Police Detective Liz Williams said.
The sailboat remained mostly submerged this afternoon in a shallow area on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway near North 23rd Street in Flagler Beach.
The cause and time of death is under investigation, Williams said, but power outages at the Medical Examiner's Office in St. Augustine will slow the effort.
____________
DaytonaSportbikes Forum
   
|
ZX12R ALIEN 1
Parking Attendant
E.T. PHONE HOME
Posts: 22
|
posted September 07, 2004 09:27 PM
ALIEN HERE
WOW..
ALIEN OUT
 
|
DaveInDaytona
Pro
Posts: 1696
|
posted September 08, 2004 08:13 AM
Followup with names:
4 killed when motorcycles hit fallen tree
By KRISTEN MOCZYNSKI
Staff Writer
Last update: 08 September 2004
DELAND -- Magdalene Teston awoke early Tuesday morning, fearing something was wrong.
What she would soon find out is that her 21-year-old son who helped her board up for Hurricane Frances had died in a violent motorcycle accident.
Matthew Teston, his 21-year-old best friend Ryan Cayford and two women died early Tuesday when their motorcycles skidded and flipped over a downed tree felled by Hurricane Frances' whipping winds. The women were identified as Andrea Wagner, 21, of Deltona and Rebecca Smith, 20, of DeLand.
The two couples likely died instantly after landing beside their cycles on North Orange Avenue, said Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Trooper Kim Miller. Riding side-by-side, the bikers started skidding 147 feet before hitting the tree, she said.
The male drivers were probably going at least 70 mph, she said.
"He said he'd be back," Magdalene Teston said about her son leaving on his new motorcycle about 9 p.m. "I'm just too numb to think about it. I don't think I've grasped it all."
FHP troopers told the families Tuesday morning that Teston and Ryan Cayford died in the accident. The families of the women were notified Tuesday afternoon of the deaths.
FHP troopers consider the four deaths hurricane-related because they struck hurricane debris.
A Daytona Beach News-Journal deliveryman discovered the four early Tuesday
Miller said the four could have been dead up to eight hours before they were found. Only the women were wearing helmets, she said.
By Tuesday, Hurricane Frances was blamed for 10 other deaths across the state, including five from traffic accidents. State and local officials cautioned the danger of the storm doesn't necessarily pass with it.
While strong winds, storm surges and inland flooding are the three big killers associated with hurricanes, many deaths occur after storms pass. Because of the dangers, Volusia County instituted a curfew, which is still in effect from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m.
"Clearly, with all of the debris in the road -- from power lines to trees to actual pieces of structure -- it's difficult in daylight (to get around), let alone in the middle of the night," EVAC spokesman Mark O'Keefe said.
Magdalene Teston said her son and Cayford left to check out the storm damage. Matthew had just waxed his bike Monday.
Teston said the pair have been good friends since high school. They both graduated from DeLand High School in 2001.
They enjoyed racing and would enter competitions at Brevard County Community College with their Mazda Miata sport cars, she said.
The mother said both men enjoyed mechanics and worked at local auto shops. Matthew also became certified as a firefighter EMT and was on a waiting list for a job with Volusia County. The young man began his training Sept. 11, 2001, she said.
Teston said her son had helped her board up her house for the hurricane. He also worked to pay his own way and help his mother with household purchases so she could send his sister, Heather, to college.
"He couldn't do enough for me," she said. "He was always there."
____________
DaytonaSportbikes Forum
|
DaveInDaytona
Pro
Posts: 1696
|
posted September 08, 2004 08:14 AM
quote:
ALIEN HERE
What's up K.
____________
DaytonaSportbikes Forum
|
|
|
|
|
HOME
NEW TOPIC