MARION COUNTY, Fla.—A Lady Lake woman was killed Monday morning after losing control of an SUV and crashing into a tree, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 49-year-old woman was southbound on Southeast 47th Avenue north of Southeast Highway 42 when she lost control for an unknown reason, traveled into the northbound land and struck a tree off the west shoulder around 9 a.m. Monday, FHP Lt. P.V. Riordan said.
She was pronounced deceased on the scene and was not wearing a seatbelt, Riordan said.
CITRUS COUNTY, Fla.—A Lady Lake man is accused of being drunk, causing a crash that killed a man and fleeing the scene Sunday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Robert Brandon Vanzant, 31, of Lady Lake was speeding southbound in a Ford F-150 on North Carl G. Rose Highway and passing traffic on the shoulder shortly before 2:30 p.m. Sunday, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said.
Vanzant merged back into traffic near East Spruce Drive and rear-ended a Honda Accord being driven by a 62-year-old Lecanto man. The impact propelled the Honda across the road, where it struck a bridge rail and then collided with a second Ford F-150 being driven northbound by a 42-year-old Beverly Hills man.
The Lecanto man was transported to an area hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. The Beverly Hills man suffered minor injuries.
Vanzant, who was not injured, left the scene, dumped his truck at a nearby gas station and fled on foot into a pasture where he was apprehended by Citrus County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Gaskins said.
Vanzant was later arrested by FHP for DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash with death, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving while license suspended with death.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—Lake County Schools will follow Wednesday schedules on Tuesday in anticipation of severe weather, according to an LCS spokesperson.
“Severe thunderstorms are in the forecast for tomorrow afternoon (Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2024) in Lake County, particularly in areas on the northern end. In an effort to get as many students home before the worst of the storm begins, Lake County Schools will follow our Wednesday early dismissal schedule on Tuesday,” LCS Communications Coordinator Sherri Owens said in an email Monday night.
LCS will excuse weather-related absences and all after school outdoor activities are canceled. Extended Learning Centers (ELC) will be open, Owens said.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—At press time Christmas Eve, the jolly fellow best known as Santa Claus was last spotted in Greenland and had delivered more than 5 billion gifts, according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD.)
Little boys and girls (who should be in bed) can track the big guy’s movements online as he makes his way across the world with his trusty reindeer crew, by visiting NORAD Tracks Santa.
NORAD began tracking Santa in 1958 after taking over the duty from the U.S. Air Force.
UMATILLA, Fla.—A tracking app helped nab an accused teenaged armed robber earlier this week, according to an arrest affidavit.
Juan “Slugga” Gomez Jr., 16, of Umatilla, is accused of robbing two victims of $500 on Orange Circle in Lady Lake Sunday. The victims told Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies a masked male suspect pointed a gun at them and demanded money, and a second male who was not wearing a mask helped him, the affidavit states.
The victims identified Gomez through social media and LSCO found that he attended Umatilla High School. Gomes was secured and detained at UHS Monday, where he was interviewed by an LCSO detective. He denied being in Lady Lake and taking part in the robbery and refused to give the detective a DNA sample, according to the affidavit.
Gomez’ father responded to the school and told LCSO he has a tracking app and it showed Gomez was in Lady Lake around the time of the robbery. Gomez then confessed to the crime but said he did not get any money; he refused to identify he accomplice. Gomez was arrested for armed robbery and turned over to the Department of Juvenile Justice.
THE VILLAGES, Fla.—The Sumter County Sheriff’s Office is searching for a Lady Lake man who has not been seen since Tuesday morning, it said in a social media post.
Ryan Kenney, 52, who has a history of medical issues, was last seen Tuesday morning on his silver bicycle around the area of Lake Sumter Landing. He is described at a white male, 5 feet 10 inches tall, with brown hair and blue eyes. He was last seen wearing a brown plaid shirt and shorts, according to SCSO. If you see Kenney or know his whereabouts, call SCSO at 352-793-2621.
LEESBURG, Fla.—The Lake-Sumter State College Foundation honored its Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame recipients Tuesday night in a ceremony held at the Everett A. Kelly Convocation Center at the college’s Leesburg campus.
Nine individuals and a community organization were recognized for their achievements and contributions to the community in front of a large crowd that enjoyed a three-course dinner and video testimonials from the recipients.
Each year, the LSSC Foundation Board of Directors select the recipients from nominations made by the public to receive distinguished alumni awards. For the first time its 12-year history, two people were awarded the prestigious Professional Achievement Award, and one of the recipients was Inside Lake’s Publisher Marilyn Aciego.
Aciego discovered her passion for journalism at Lake-Sumter State College after taking a media class and later became editor of both The Angler and The Odyssey, LSSC’s student publications. She was hired by the Daily Commercial while she was still a student at LSSC and worked her way up to the lead cops and courts reporter. She covered numerous stories that gained national interest, including the death of beloved Sheriff Chris Daniels, a murder committed by identical twins and the disappearance of Trenton Duckett. Aciego’s coverage of these stories lead to appearances on Nancy Grace dozens of times and an episode of Evil Twins on Investigation Discovery.
Lake-Sumter State College Foundation 2023 Hall of Fame recipient Toni Upchurch and Distinguished Alumni recipient Marilyn Aciego.
She left the Daily Commercial in 2009 and began working for an international media organization in an entry-level position and was named Florida bureau chief just three years later. In 2010, she joined recently-retired attorney James Hope to write local stories for Hope’s Lake Legal News magazine, rising to editor-in-chief and then partnering with Hope to start the online edition that focused on breaking crime and public safety news.
In 2021, Aciego and Hope dissolved their partnership and Aciego rebranded Lake Legal News to Inside Lake and began covering general news along with crime news.
“Lake County was becoming a news desert,” Aciego said. “I knew it was time to start Inside Lake.”
It was these achievements that earned Aciego the prestigious Professional Achievement Award and Tuesday night she shared that honor with Sandra Wilson, a 1989 graduate of LSSC.
Lake-Sumter State College Foundation Distinguished Alumni and Hall of Fame 2023
Marilyn Aciego—Distinguished Alumni, Professional Achievement Award
Sandra Wilson— Distinguished Alumni, Professional Achievement Award
Pat Atley— Distinguished Alumni, Scholar Award
Christine Boodhoo— Distinguished Alumni, Valor Award
Juliana Green— Distinguished Alumni, Community Engagement Award
Andrew LoFaro—Distinguished Alumni, Graduate of the Last Decade Award
Toni Upchurch— Hall of Fame, Faculty Award
Kevin Yurasek— Hall of Fame, Staff Award
Patrick Ryan— Hall of Fame, Athletics Award
The Live Well Foundation of South Lake— Hall of Fame, Community Partner Award
LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has launched a public reporting tool to help in its research on a virus that is killing Florida freshwater turtles.
FWC has been studying turtle fraservirus (TFV1) since 2018 and is now asking the public to report any sick or dead turtles to help them combat and understand this deadly virus. TFV1 has been found in Lake County, in addition to several other counties in Central Florida, but it could be present throughout the state, FWC warns; it has been identified in softshells, cooters, sliders and snapping turtles.
Signs a turtle could be infected:
Appears sluggish, unresponsive or reluctant to flee.
Stays in shallow water or beached on banks for prolonged periods of time.
Head and neck outstretched flat along the ground.
Sunken, swollen crusty and/or cloudy eyes.
Reddened skin on head, neck, limbs or bottom of shell.
Swims irregularly (sideways, in circles or is unable to submerge)
Sick sofshell turtles are slow and lethargic. PHOTO: FWC
In 2021, FWC enacted an executive order prohibiting unpermitted taking and transporting of softshell turtles and yellow-bellied sliders to reduce the spread of TFV1, Turtles should not be captured and transported to a new location even if they seem healthy.
LADY LAKE, Fla.—A Pennsylvania man wanted for murder in Virginia was arrested by Lady Lake Police Department early Wednesday morning.
Maurice T. Massey, 29, was pulled over for traveling 51 miles per hour in a 40 miles-per-hour zone on U.S. Highway 27/441 near Griffin View Drive at 4:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to Lady Lake Communications Director Elisha Pappacoda.
LLPD Cpl. Heather Couch conducted the traffic stop and after a routine driver license check, Massey was found to have a warrant for second-degree murder out of Virginia, Pappacoda said.
Massey, of Tamaqua, Pennsylvania, was driving a white Hyundai Sonata with a Virginia license plate and when he was taken into custody, he reportedly told LLPD he knew what the warrant was for, but it was “all wrong.” He said he only witnessed a murder, according to the report.
“I’d like to commend our officers for their diligence and remind the community that even routine traffic stops can make a difference in the safety of our community,” said LLPD Chief Steve Hunt.
Massey was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on no bond.
THE VILLAGES, Fla.—A 89-year-old man is in serious condition after driving his golf cart into the path of a car Tuesday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
The 89-year-old man of The Villages was driving a golf cart northbound on a golf cart path shortly before 8 a.m. when he turned left in front of a car near Woodridge Drive in Sumter County, according to FHP.
The golf cart driver struck the left side of the car, being driven by a 69-year-old Lady Lake man. The golf cart driver was seriously injured; the Lady Lake man and his 69-year-old female passenger were not injured, FHP said.
