|
Home Search |
Published on Friday, October 4, 2002
in the Orlando Sentinel
An arrest warrant has been issued for a man who was originally thought to be a passenger in tractor-trailer that struck and killed an Oviedo firefighter and a Winter Park doctor on Florida's Turnpike in June.
Mack Foster Gardner, 34, of Georgia is wanted on two counts of vehicular manslaughter, said Lt. Chuck Williams of the Florida Highway Patrol. Gardner is facing four other charges of culpable negligence and driving without a drivers license, Williams said.
Investigators now say Gardner was the driver of the semi at the time of the accident.
"We originally thought he was the passenger, but we've since discovered he was the driver," Williams said.
Williams said he could not remember the name of the man troopers originally thought was driving the tractor-trailer. He said the records on the accident would not be available until today.
"He [the man originally thought to be driving] is not a part of this warrant," Williams said. "It's irrelevant at this time."
Authorities in Georgia, where Gardner is thought to be living, have been notified of the warrant, Williams said.
Oviedo firefighter Shane Kelly, 26, and Dr. N. Donald Diebel Jr., 35, a Winter Park obstetrician, died when they were struck by the tractor-trailer as they were trying to rescue a newlywed couple from Crystal River. The newlyweds were trapped in their overturned Toyota pickup truck on the turnpike near Wildwood in Sumter County on June 8.
Four other rescuers were injured in the collision.
Gardner was not injured when he lost control of the tractor-trailer on the rain-slicked highway and struck the rescuers, investigators said.
Diebel, his wife, Karen, and sons Conor, 5, Liam, 4, and Nicholas, 2, were on their way to visit Karen Diebel's parents in Georgia when they happened on the Toyota pickup about 1:15 p.m. on that overcast Saturday. Kelly and his wife, Rachel, were on their way to Tallahassee.
Both wives watched helplessly as the semi struck their husbands.
Diebel's father, Dr. Donald Diebel Sr., who was in practice with his son, said prosecutors informed him of the warrant for Gardner on Wednesday.
"I think justice needs to be done and, from that point of view, it's good news," Diebel said. "They need to bring these folks to justice. They had total disregard for anybody that may have been around."
Diebel said both he and his daughter-in-law are just trying to live day by day.
"We're both back working, but it's tough," he said. "As far as changing the pain and heartache? Nothing will change that, of course."
Diebel said his three grandsons talk about how much they wish their father was still around.
"They verbalize that frequently," he said. "They miss him terribly."