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Police News
Five people died within several hours of each other on the night of July 4 and early the next morning.
The first accident occured about 10 p.m. Sunday night on Canoe Creek Road about 2 miles south of St. Cloud when a 2018 Toyota Rav 4 SUV was going the wrong way and collided with a 2003 S10 Chevrolet pickup truck.
The truck’s passengers, Michael “Skip” Skipper and his 14-year-old son Mikey, were on their way home after celebrating the holiday at a relative’s house, according to Florida Highway Patrol.
Skipper, who worked at Universal Studios, and the Rav 4 driver both died at the scene, FHP said. The teen died after he had been taken to the hospital.
Local news reports said the man and his son were caravanning back to their house with other family members before the crash took place.
“They waited 10 minutes and when Skip and Mikey did not answer any phone calls, they backtracked and discovered the wreck. They [the wrong-way driver] crossed over the lane and hit head-on into my son-in-law and my grandson,” Wendy Durinick told WKMG.
A GoFundMe was set up to help with funeral and family expenses.
The second crash was at 1:45 Monday morning on Interstate 4 near U.S. Highway 192.
A 2008 Honda van was traveling west when “for an unknown reason” the vehicle left the interstate, struck a steel pole and caught fire. The driver died at the scene, and the passenger died later at a hospital, FHP said.
The agency witheld the names in both accidents pending notificaiton of next of kin.
