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A deadly summer for bikers in Gainesville and Ocala


Posted on Aug 18, 2009

Several deadly motorcycle accidents have occured in Gainesville and Ocala in the last few months.

On June 30, 2009, a motorcyclist was speeding, hit a tree and was thrown out of his motorcycle in a residential neighborhood in Ocala. His motorcycle hit the concrete wall and his body was thrown into a door of a building at a Country Club of Ocala. The thirty-year-old was taken to Munroe Regional Medical Center where he died from his injuries. He was not wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.

Another motorcyclist was killed on July 5, 2009 on SR 40, three miles east of SR 41. A driver of Hyundai Accent, Victor Nevola, was driving under the influence of alcohol. He violated the right of way and made an improper turn in front of a motorcycle. As a result of the impact with the car, a motorcyclist, 49-year-old Thomas Akridge, and his passenger, Wendy Coulter-Braden, 51, were thrown out of the vehicle. The driver suffered minor injuries, while the motorcyclist died and his passenger was critically injured, flown by a helicopter to Shands at the University of Florida. Neither of them was wearing a helmet. Nevola, the driver of Hyundai Accent was arrested at the scene of the accident and charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI property damage, DUI with serious bodily injury, and making an improper turn. 

Just several days ago, on August 11, 2009, a car and a motorcycle crashed head-on in Ocala on U.S. 27/441 because the driver of the car, Kimberly Sasser, was going the wrong way.  As a result of the collision, the motorcycle caught on fire and the motorcyclist, Charles Linzmeyer, who was not wearing a helmet; died at the scene. It is not yet clear whether the driver and her 6-year-old passenger were wearing the seatbelts. The driver was seriously injured and was taken to Shands, and the child suffered minor injuries.

For more information, please see:

Helmet Use Might Save Your Life

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