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Published on Wednesday, July 7, 2004
in the Gainesville Sun
As the Fourth of July weekend drew to a close, the Florida Highway Patrol reported that the number of fatal crashes in the state had passed last year's total, with five of those deaths reported in North Central Florida.
In the nine-county area that includes Alachua County, troopers reported one crash-related death in the 72-hour holiday weekend in 2003, while the state total was 25, FHP Lt. Mike Burroughs said. Traffic deaths are being tallied over a four-day period this year, but FHP had already counted 27 fatal crashes statewide and five in the Gainesville area by Monday afternoon.
About 2 million Floridians were expected to travel by car, truck or RV this holiday weekend, a five percent increase over last year, officials said. Nationwide figures predicted similar increases attributed to high consumer confidence levels.
All the crashes in Alachua, Levy, Suwannee, Columbia and Gilchrist counties that resulted in the deaths involved drivers or passengers not wearing seat belts, some with victims who were ejected from their vehicles, Burroughs said.
"People just don't seem to get the message that one of the most dangerous things they can do in today's traffic is to not wear a seat belt," he said.
Among those killed were 70-year-old Imogene Dowing, of Live Oak, who died after making a left turn into the path of a sport utility vehicle heading north on State Road 51 Saturday morning, troopers said.
Also on Saturday, Christopher T. Rhodes, 26, of Middleburg died after his vehicle struck another on State Road 19, about 13 miles south of Palatka.
A 67-year-old Georgia woman was killed on State Road 26 in Alachua County Saturday when her car hit a truck and then drove into trees. A single-vehicle accident about 10 miles south of Lake City on Interstate 75 killed a man in his 50s Saturday, while an Ohio man died after his motorcycle overturned near the westbound lane of State Road 24 in Levy County, police said.
The Gainesville Police Department and the Alachua County Sheriff's Department did not report any fatal crashes over the holiday weekend.
However, a portion of NW 6th St. between NW 39th Ave. and NW 41st Ave. was closed for about four hours on Sunday after a 17-year-old boy, who apparently fell asleep at the wheel, crashed his car into a telephone pole, Sgt. Chuck Reddick said. The boy, who was cited for careless driving, was not injured in the crash, and police closed the road until repairs to the pole were complete.