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Luckily, no Brothers where reported injured....thank God....
for more pictures, and a diagram of what happened, go to
http://floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dl...49/1006/news01
PALM BAY - Vince Hines stood in a convenience store picking out lunch when he and his co-workers heard a horrific crunch of metal and glass at one of the city's busiest intersections.
What the 40-year-old saw when he ran outside left him sick.
The noontime collision at Palm Bay Road and Hollywood Boulevard killed a 47-year-old woman driving a blue Ford Escort. A few feet away, a white Hyundai Tucson sport utility vehicle and a black Mercedes sat on either side of a gray 1999 Ford Taurus that had gone airborne before slamming into the side of a 8,000-pound Palm Bay Fire-Rescue ladder truck, barely missing a firefighter inside.
"This is the worst accident I've ever seen. It all just happened in a matter of seconds," Hines said, looking on as firefighters and police officers examined the wreckage to sort out exactly what happened.
The 25-year-old unidentified driver of the Ford Taurus, the car police said started the deadly chain reaction, was airlifted and in critical condition Thursday at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
Killed was Michelle Jean Mallory, no address given, officials said. Three other people were taken by ambulance to the hospital. None of the firefighters on the ladder truck was injured.
The deadly crash in a 45-mph zone quickly reminded residents about the dangers of increasingly congested roads in a city with 104,000 people. On one corner -- actually within the city limits of West Melbourne -- is a packed shopping plaza anchored by Wal-Mart.
On two other corners of the busy intersection are gas stations, while less than a half-mile to the west is the Interstate 95 interchange and a car dealership.
"It's an area with a high volume of traffic," said Doug Muldoon, assistant chief of the Palm Bay Police Department.
Muldoon added the city works with the county -- which maintains the road -- and West Melbourne to constantly manage the flow of traffic at the intersection. In recent months the city has posted signs along stretches of Palm Bay Road informing motorists that they are driving in a high crash zone.
Soon after Thursday's crash, Palm Bay police traffic homicide investigators focused on the speed of the Taurus as it headed west toward the intersection. Investigators also planned to test the blood of the Taurus driver to see whether alcohol or other intoxicants might have been a factor.
"It was coming at a high rate of speed. The vehicles hit were stopped in traffic. According to the witnesses, the driver of the Taurus split the traffic," said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Palm Bay Police Department.
The impact happened as a Palm Bay Fire-Rescue ladder truck, which had the right of way, turned left off Hollywood Boulevard onto the eastbound lane of Palm Bay Road. One of the firefighters in the truck watched as the speeding car plowed into the Escort and went airborne, Martinez said.
"The firefighter said he saw it coming, and he tried to move because he thought the Taurus was going to hit him," said Martinez, describing how the airborne Taurus hit just behind the passenger compartment of the fire truck.
Within moments the shaken firefighters, fresh from a training session in Melbourne, jumped out of the engine to help the injured as motorists looked on.
"They were victims and they had to turn around and help the people at the scene," Martinez said.
Palm Bay Fire Chief Larry Hellmann also suffered a injury to his finger after helping to lift one of the traffic victims on an ambulance gurney, Martinez said.
Debris, including a car battery and a muffler, was scattered across the intersection. About 50 people stood along the intersection, some covering their mouths in shock, as police and firefighters searched through the wreckage. The Escort was so mangled that paramedics were not able to determine how many victims were trapped inside.
"Initially they thought that there could have been someone else in the car because they found a lot of baby items and toys inside," Martinez said.
The Escort -- with the woman's body still encased in the jagged wreckage -- was covered with a red tarp and later hoisted onto the back of a tow truck and driven to another location where firefighters worked to remove the remains.
Palm Bay police, some wearing florescent traffic vests, began diverting hundreds of motorists onto Hollywood Boulevard at the intersection and onto Dairy Road farther east. Despite the road blockage, traffic flowed smoothly as motorists learning about the accident avoided the area. Traffic remained blocked at the intersection about four hours.
"They did a pretty good job," Muldoon said of his officers' response to the accident.
Mike Gooch, who lives a few blocks away, was buying cigarettes at the Kangaroo gas station-convenience store at the southwest corner of Palm Bay Road and Hollywood.
"There were three huge explosions," Gooch said. "I saw cars spinning in circles and when the (gray) car got hit, it went straight in the air."
for more pictures, and a diagram of what happened, go to
http://floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dl...49/1006/news01
PALM BAY - Vince Hines stood in a convenience store picking out lunch when he and his co-workers heard a horrific crunch of metal and glass at one of the city's busiest intersections.
What the 40-year-old saw when he ran outside left him sick.
The noontime collision at Palm Bay Road and Hollywood Boulevard killed a 47-year-old woman driving a blue Ford Escort. A few feet away, a white Hyundai Tucson sport utility vehicle and a black Mercedes sat on either side of a gray 1999 Ford Taurus that had gone airborne before slamming into the side of a 8,000-pound Palm Bay Fire-Rescue ladder truck, barely missing a firefighter inside.
"This is the worst accident I've ever seen. It all just happened in a matter of seconds," Hines said, looking on as firefighters and police officers examined the wreckage to sort out exactly what happened.
The 25-year-old unidentified driver of the Ford Taurus, the car police said started the deadly chain reaction, was airlifted and in critical condition Thursday at Holmes Regional Medical Center in Melbourne.
Killed was Michelle Jean Mallory, no address given, officials said. Three other people were taken by ambulance to the hospital. None of the firefighters on the ladder truck was injured.
The deadly crash in a 45-mph zone quickly reminded residents about the dangers of increasingly congested roads in a city with 104,000 people. On one corner -- actually within the city limits of West Melbourne -- is a packed shopping plaza anchored by Wal-Mart.
On two other corners of the busy intersection are gas stations, while less than a half-mile to the west is the Interstate 95 interchange and a car dealership.
"It's an area with a high volume of traffic," said Doug Muldoon, assistant chief of the Palm Bay Police Department.
Muldoon added the city works with the county -- which maintains the road -- and West Melbourne to constantly manage the flow of traffic at the intersection. In recent months the city has posted signs along stretches of Palm Bay Road informing motorists that they are driving in a high crash zone.
Soon after Thursday's crash, Palm Bay police traffic homicide investigators focused on the speed of the Taurus as it headed west toward the intersection. Investigators also planned to test the blood of the Taurus driver to see whether alcohol or other intoxicants might have been a factor.
"It was coming at a high rate of speed. The vehicles hit were stopped in traffic. According to the witnesses, the driver of the Taurus split the traffic," said Yvonne Martinez, spokeswoman for the Palm Bay Police Department.
The impact happened as a Palm Bay Fire-Rescue ladder truck, which had the right of way, turned left off Hollywood Boulevard onto the eastbound lane of Palm Bay Road. One of the firefighters in the truck watched as the speeding car plowed into the Escort and went airborne, Martinez said.
"The firefighter said he saw it coming, and he tried to move because he thought the Taurus was going to hit him," said Martinez, describing how the airborne Taurus hit just behind the passenger compartment of the fire truck.
Within moments the shaken firefighters, fresh from a training session in Melbourne, jumped out of the engine to help the injured as motorists looked on.
"They were victims and they had to turn around and help the people at the scene," Martinez said.
Palm Bay Fire Chief Larry Hellmann also suffered a injury to his finger after helping to lift one of the traffic victims on an ambulance gurney, Martinez said.
Debris, including a car battery and a muffler, was scattered across the intersection. About 50 people stood along the intersection, some covering their mouths in shock, as police and firefighters searched through the wreckage. The Escort was so mangled that paramedics were not able to determine how many victims were trapped inside.
"Initially they thought that there could have been someone else in the car because they found a lot of baby items and toys inside," Martinez said.
The Escort -- with the woman's body still encased in the jagged wreckage -- was covered with a red tarp and later hoisted onto the back of a tow truck and driven to another location where firefighters worked to remove the remains.
Palm Bay police, some wearing florescent traffic vests, began diverting hundreds of motorists onto Hollywood Boulevard at the intersection and onto Dairy Road farther east. Despite the road blockage, traffic flowed smoothly as motorists learning about the accident avoided the area. Traffic remained blocked at the intersection about four hours.
"They did a pretty good job," Muldoon said of his officers' response to the accident.
Mike Gooch, who lives a few blocks away, was buying cigarettes at the Kangaroo gas station-convenience store at the southwest corner of Palm Bay Road and Hollywood.
"There were three huge explosions," Gooch said. "I saw cars spinning in circles and when the (gray) car got hit, it went straight in the air."
) but i guessed that is the reason. I am sorry to hear of your loss.
RAY WAS HERE 08/28/05
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