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Load Limit Curbs EMS in Florida
SYLVIA LIM
Bradenton Herald via Associated Press
A man and a woman returning to their home from a nearby store on 14th Street West did not notice the approaching Honda as they stepped off the curb early Thursday morning.
Herbert R. Edson Jr. saw them and slammed on the brakes, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release, but it was too late. His Honda struck Mindy Speese, 25, and Clifford Russ, 29.
Speese died in Manatee Memorial Hospital several hours later. Russ was taken by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg for serious injuries, the release stated.
"The driver stopped," said Jennifer Spencer, Speese's neighbor in Baxter's Motel on 3225 14th St. W. "You could tell he was very sorry."
Spencer did not hear the crash but rushed out of her room after another neighbor told her of the accident.
"They both had some fractures," said Capt. Larry Leinhauser, spokesman for the Manatee County Emergency Medical Service, "but she was conscious when we got there. She was complaining that she was hurt."
Speese was also supposed to be flown to a hospital on the Bayflite helicopter.
"Because of the size of the individual, and the 350 pound weight limitation of Bayflite, we had to take her there on ground transportation," Leinhauser said.
SYLVIA LIM
Bradenton Herald via Associated Press
A man and a woman returning to their home from a nearby store on 14th Street West did not notice the approaching Honda as they stepped off the curb early Thursday morning.
Herbert R. Edson Jr. saw them and slammed on the brakes, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release, but it was too late. His Honda struck Mindy Speese, 25, and Clifford Russ, 29.
Speese died in Manatee Memorial Hospital several hours later. Russ was taken by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg for serious injuries, the release stated.
"The driver stopped," said Jennifer Spencer, Speese's neighbor in Baxter's Motel on 3225 14th St. W. "You could tell he was very sorry."
Spencer did not hear the crash but rushed out of her room after another neighbor told her of the accident.
"They both had some fractures," said Capt. Larry Leinhauser, spokesman for the Manatee County Emergency Medical Service, "but she was conscious when we got there. She was complaining that she was hurt."
Speese was also supposed to be flown to a hospital on the Bayflite helicopter.
"Because of the size of the individual, and the 350 pound weight limitation of Bayflite, we had to take her there on ground transportation," Leinhauser said.