Deltona, Orange City students hit by cars today were 16th, 17th this year

BEACON PHOTO/JEN HORTON
Car in fatal crash — The front hood of this 2007 black Mazda, driven by Hattie Joyal, shows damaged from a fatal crash in Orange City on Feb. 2. A 16-year-old student was killed.

BEACON PHOTO/JEN HORTON
Boy hit — Looking south on U.S. Highway 17-92 in Orange City, witnesses said 16-year-old Brandon Vera landed where the firetruck sits, after the boy was hit by the black car. The accident happened at the corner of Ohio Avenue and U.S. 17-92.

BEACON PHOTO/JEN HORTON
The corner — A boy, identified by the Florida Highway Patrol as 16-year-old Brandon Vera of Orange City, was struck by a car at this intersection.

Orange City teen killed; Deltona boy injured on way to school

By Jen Horton and Barb Shepherd
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted Feb 2, 2012 - 9:12:58am

UPDATE 12:34 P.M.: Two students involved in automobile accidents in West Volusia this morning, Feb. 2, were the 16th and 17th students to be hit by cars on their way to or from school during this school year.

Brandon Vera, 16, of Orange City was the 16th. Vera died this morning, Feb. 2, after being hit at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17-92 and Ohio Avenue in Orange City.

School system Community Information Director Nancy Wait said the 17th student was a student bicycling to Heritage Middle School in Deltona this morning. That student's injuries were minor, Wait said.

Wait said Volusia County Schools has sent crisis teams to the University High School in Orange City today, to help students deal with the news of Vera's death.

A crises team, Wait explained, comprises social workers and guidance counselors who routinely work at the district office, and offer additional support during times of crisis, such as the death of a student.

Wait encouraged students who may be upset to talk to a guidance counselor.

Vera's death was the second vehicular fatality this year involving students in Volusia County Schools. In January, an Ormond Beach Middle School student was being picked up after school by his sister when he fell from the vehicle and was run over, Wait said.

Of the 17 accidents involving students this year, Wait said, seven were in Orange City. Four involved University High School students, and three involved River Springs Middle School students. The two schools, both fairly new, are adjacent to one another on property on Orange City's west side.

Brandon Haught, public-information officer for the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, provided additional information about the accident at Heritage Middle School.

Haught confirmed that a call came in at 8:41 a.m. about a boy riding a bicycle who had been hit by a car at the intersection of Whitewood Drive and Deltona Avenue.

The driver made a proper stop at the intersection, Haught said, and then turned right. The 13-year-old student was on the sidewalk, and rode into the path of the turning vehicle, Haught said.

He said the boy tried to avoid the collision, but was struck by the vehicle outside of the crosswalk.

The boy was transported to Florida Hospital-Fish Memorial in Orange City. Haught said he understood that the boy's injuries were not serious.

UPDATE 10:53 a.m. Kenneth Hasenbuhler, 73, of DeLand, was driving a 2002 Chevy when he struck a Sheriff's Office car driven by Volusia County Sheriff's Deputy Roy Galarza at 5:50 a.m. today, Thursday, Feb. 2.

Galarza, 28, also of DeLand, was traveling southbound on Volusia Avenue (U.S. Highway 17-92) in Orange City, according to the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP). Hasenbuhler was traveling northbound and attempted to make a left turn onto Graves Avenue, when he struck the left side of Galarza's patrol car, the FHP said.

Galarza was extracted from his car and airlifted to Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach.

Orange City Police Cmdr. Jason Sampsell was unable to comment on the crash, as the investigation is being conducted by the FHP. However, Sampsell confirmed the call for a "unit-involved" car crash came in at 5:47 a.m., and was called in by Deputy Galarza.

UPDATE 10:37 a.m. Brandon Vera, 16, of Orange City, was killed when he was struck by a car at 6:45 a.m. today, Feb. 2.

Florida Highway Patrol reported a 2007 Mazda driven by Hattie Joyal of Deltona was traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 17-92 in the right through lane.

FHP said the 16-year-old pedestrian was attempting to cross the highway from the east side of the intersection at Ohio Avenue in Orange City, and walked directly into the path of Joyal's Mazda.

The crash remains under investigation.

Orange City Police Cmdr. Jason Sampsell was unable to comment on the fatal crash, because the investigation is being conducted by the FHP. However, Sampsell confirmed the call about a vehicle-vs-pedestrian crash came in at 6:48 a.m from a cell phone.

UPDATE 9:48 A.M. FEB. 2: A witness to the crash that killed an Orange City student this morning, Feb. 2, said a woman who may have been trying to beat the traffic light hit the student.

The witness, Mike Roberts, said he was going into the Cumberland Farms store at the corner of U.S. Highway 17-92 and Ohio Avenue at about 7 a.m. when he saw a young man who had just stepped off the curb hit by a small, dark-colored car that appeared to be rushing through the intersection on a yellow light.

The car was headed north on U.S. 17-92, the witness said, and the young man was walking westbound on Ohio.

The vehicle that hit the boy stopped, Roberts said, and the woman driver appeared to be very upset.

REPORTED EARLIER: A high-school student was killed and a Volusia County Sheriff's Office deputy was seriously injured in two car accidents in Orange City this morning, Feb. 2.

The crashes occurred about an hour apart and nine blocks away from each other.

Orange City residents heard the Sheriff's Office Air One helicopter flying overhead shortly after 6 a.m.; the Florida Highway Patrol was dispatched to the second accident at 7:15 a.m.

Orange City Mayor Tom Laputka confirmed that the second accident took the life of a high-school student. The location was reported as on Ohio Avenue, and the student was walking.

The mayor said the crash that injured the deputy occurred about a block from Town Hall.

"A fellow turned in to a police car," Laputka said.

Gary Davidson, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office, said Florida Highway Patrol is handling both crashes.

Davidson said the injured deputy is Roy Galarza, 28, who was just coming off his shift in DeBary when the crash occurred. Galarza was still being evaluated at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was taken by helicopter after the crash, but his injuries are not life-threatening, Davidson said.

No further information was immediately available. Beacon staff member Jen Horton is on the scene in Orange City, and will update this report as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office is investigating another death in West Volusia this morning.

The Sheriff's Office said 81-year-old Richard Bass of Ormond Beach fell into the Norris Dead River, a tributary of the St. Johns River, at the Highland Park Fish Camp west of DeLand.

The incident was reported by a witness who called 911 at 7:07 a.m. to report that Bass had fallen off a dock and disappeared into the water.

Deputies and rescue personnel from Volusia County Fire Services arrived on scene and helped search for the victim, who was found at approximately 7:57 a.m.

Bass was transported by EVAC ambulance to Florida Hospital-DeLand, where he was pronounced dead at 8:28 a.m., the Sheriff's Office said.

An autopsy will be conducted by the Volusia County Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death.

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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