SUMTER COUNTY, FL – State troopers said a pickup truck accident in Sumter County Thursday morning left one person dead.
According to WKMG, the crash occurred on County Road 475 at about 12:15 a.m. The Florida Highway Patrol said the male driver was going north on C.R. 475 when the pickup went off the roadway near State Road 470.
The vehicle crashed into a tree and caught fire, killing the driver. His identity was not immediately released.
MARION COUNTY, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol investigated a fatal bicycle accident that occurred in Marion County last week.
According to WKMG, the victim was a male who was riding a bicycle east in the westbound lane of NE 35th Street shortly after 10 p.m. State troopers determined that a westbound vehicle struck the bicyclist near NE 16th Court.
The victim, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the car, a 17-year-old Ocala boy, and his three passengers, all from Orange Park, were not injured.
GAINESVILLE, FL – A man driving a stolen hearse caused a multi-vehicle crash in Gainesville Sunday afternoon, police said.
According to WGFL, the hearse was stolen from the Chestnut Funeral Home on NW 8th Avenue at about 1:30 p.m. Police said the suspect, identified as 54-year-old Williams Stewart, drove about three miles to the corner of NW 34th Street and crashed into four other vehicles.
Williams was injured and taken to an area hospital. No injuries were reported among the drivers of the other four vehicles.
CITRUS COUNTY, FL – A bicyclist was injured after being struck by a hit-and-run driver in Citrus County Friday night, WFLA reports.
The Florida Highway Patrol said a 49-year-old man was riding his bicycle on West Grover Cleveland Boulevard at about 10:25 p.m. when he was hit by an eastbound sedan. The victim, a Homosassa resident, was seriously injured and airlifted to an area hospital.
State troopers said the driver of the sedan kept going after the collision without stopping to help, and is now being sought. The bicyclist, who was not wearing a helmet at the time, did have a light on his bike.
SEMINOLE, FL – The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a deadly motorcycle accident that occurred in Seminole last week, reports WFLA.
The crash happened late Tuesday night in the vicinity of Seminole Boulevard and Bay Pines Boulevard near the Tom Stuart Causeway.
Investigators said the driver of a Yamaha V-Star motorcycle was going south on Seminole Boulevard at a high rate of speed at about 11 p.m. The motorcycle hit a guardrail and the rider was thrown from his bike.
WESLEY CHAPEL, FL – Two people died following a collision between a car and a truck in Pasco County last week, Pasco News Online reports.
The accident happened in the area of State Road 54 and Morris Bridge Road on the morning of April 7. The Florida Highway Patrol said an 81-year-old woman was driving a car west on State Road 54 when she turned into the path of an eastbound tractor-trailer.
The truck crashed into the car, and both vehicles wound up in the southeast part of the intersection. The driver of the car, a Zephyrhills resident, and her passenger, a 38-year-old New York resident, died after being taken to an area hospital. Another passenger in the car was hospitalized in serious condition.
SUMTER COUNTY, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol said a woman died following an accident involving her vehicle in Sumter County Saturday afternoon.
According to WTSP, the incident happened on Fringe Tree Trail near Knotty Pine Terrace in the Villages shortly before 4 p.m. The FHP said a 62-year-old woman driving a sport utility vehicle had backed out of a driveway and crashed into a vehicle that was parked on the opposite road of the road.
The woman then pulled back into the driveway to check on the damage and got out of her SUV but reportedly did not shift the vehicle into park, according to state troopers. The SUV ran over the woman and she was killed. The victim’s identity was not immediately released.
OCALA, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol is searching for the driver who struck and killed a bicycle rider in Ocala last week, Ocala-News.com reports.
The accident happened Wednesday night on NE Jacksonville Road near the intersection of NE 31st Street at about 8:20 p.m. The FHP said a 38-year-old Ocala man was riding a bicycle west across NE Jacksonville Road when he was hit by an SUV heading south and suffered fatal injuries.
The driver of the SUV fled the scene after the crash without stopping. State troopers have now released a photo and a description of the vehicle they are looking for. It is believed to be a 2007 to 2014 Chevrolet Suburban that is gray or silver in color.
A real estate data firm, Clever Real Estate, analyzed the cities with the best and worst drivers in the U.S. and discovered that three Florida cities rank in the top 5 in the country for worst drivers, earning Florida the top spot as the worst state for drivers.
Here are the top 5 rankings, according to analysis from Clever Real Estate:
The study looked at various metrics to determine the cities with the worst drivers, such as yearly DUI-related traffic deaths, annual traffic-related fatalities, number of days of inclement weather, percentage of uninsured drivers in the area, average insurance premium costs in the area, Allstate’s best driver’s rankings, and the number of auto body repair shops in the area.
While Jacksonville took home the top spot for worst drivers, New York City has the best. Jacksonville has 2.9 DUI fatalities per 100,000 residents, which is 66% more than the average city for this study (1.7 per 100,000 residents). Jacksonville ranks number 7 in the U.S. for the highest number of DUI-related traffic fatalities. NYC, on the other hand, has only 0.6 DUI-related fatalities per 100,000 residents as well as very few driving fatalities in general each year (3.3 per 100,000 residents).
Jacksonville has 10.9 annual traffic-related deaths per 100,000 residents, which is 65% more than the average (6.6) of cities studied. Interstate 95 happens to run right through Jacksonville, and it is considered one of the deadliest Interstates in the U.S.
The high cost of car insurance in Florida means that there are a lot of drivers operating their vehicles without insurance. Average auto insurance premiums in Jacksonville are at $2,745. Orlando’s average insurance premiums are $2,698. Tampa’s average premiums are $3,459. This study found that 20.40% of drivers in Jacksonville, Orlando, and Tampa are uninsured, which is 54% higher than the national average of 13%.
Orlando sees about 130 days of precipitation every year and has 9.1 driving deaths per 100,000 residents annually, which is much higher than the average city, which has 6.6 traffic deaths per 100,000 residents.
Tampa has 10 deadly traffic accidents per 100,000 residents annually, which is 51% more than the average city in the study.
There are various factors that account for the high number of traffic deaths in the state of Florida, but distracted driving is one major reason that these numbers continue to remain high each year. In 2020, Florida saw 215,000 distracted driving-related deaths, which was lower than previous years dating back to 2015 where the Sunshine State saw between 265,000-295,000 distracted driving-related fatalities.
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, so it is important to refamiliarize yourself with safe driving practices and aim to limit the number of distractions in your vehicle. Our Florida Car Accident Attorneys at Whittel & Melton understand that some distractions are unavoidable for motorists, but you can do things to reduce these distractions, such as:
ALACHUA COUNTY, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol said a motorcycle rider was killed in an accident in Alachua County early Sunday morning.
According to WGFL, state troopers were dispatched to the scene on State Road 235 near Northwest 40th Terrace at about 5:45 a.m. Their investigation determined that the motorcyclist was heading west when he struck a deer in the road and was thrown from his bike.
The rider landed in the roadway and was struck by a westbound pickup truck. The motorcyclist, a 57-year-old man from Starke, was pronounced dead at the scene. The man driving the pickup truck was not hurt.
