Published on Thursday, December 1, 2005
in the Osceola News Gazette

2 die in crashes over holiday

A vehicle crash and bicyclist mishap in Osceola County accounted for two of the nine fatalities on Central Florida roadways over the five-day Thanksgiving holiday.

According to the Florida Highway Patrol’s preliminary traffic statistics, 53 people were killed in traffic crashes statewide between Nov. 23 and Nov. 27, a decrease from 55 fatalities during the same time last year.

Central Florida’s nine fatal crashes mirrored the number of traffic deaths in the region in 2004.

“We’re a little disappointed that we saw the same amount as last year (in Central Florida),” said Trooper Kim Miller, agency spokeswoman.

Both Osceola fatalities occurred Saturday.

At 8:30 p.m., 30-year-old St. Cloud resident Stacie A. Arneson, 33, was riding a bicycle westbound on Old Canoe Creek Road, about a mile south of St. Cloud.

Driving behind Arneson in a 2004 Ford pick-up truck was Dorren D. Tope, 33, of St. Cloud. Because the headlights from an oncoming vehicle blinded him, Tope said he didn’t see Arneson until it was too late, according to patrol reports.

The truck struck the rear of the bike, sending Arneson over the hood and then tossed her about 100 feet, reports said.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Troopers said Arneson was not wearing a bike helmet nor did she have reflective equipment on the bike.

“You’ll never knew whether a helmet would have protected her head when she fell,” Miller said. “You can’t rely on the driver to see you. You have to protect yourself.”

At 10:05 p.m. the same day, 79-year-old Clermont resident Shirley Armstrong was driving a 1994 Chevrolet Metro eastbound in the left lane of U.S. Highway 192, near intersecting Vista Del Lago Boulevard. As traffic began stopping for a red light at the intersection, Armstrong failed to stop and slammed into the back of a 2003 Ford minivan driven by Robert Henderson, 31, of Davenport.

Armstrong, who was not wearing a seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene. Reports did not say why she failed to stop.

Of the other Central Florida fatalities, one person was killed in Orange County, four in Volusia County and two in Lake County. Seminole and Brevard counties had no fatalities.

Troopers also wrote 96 traffic tickets in Osceola, mostly for speeding during the Operation Safe Ride traffic campaign. The special operation was design to target speeders, the kind of driving blamed for recent area crashes, Miller said.