SOUTH LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—A bicyclist was killed Friday night after he turned in front of a truck on State Road 50 near Mascotte and Groveland, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
Shortly before 9:30 p.m., a 30-year-old man was riding a bicycle on Anderson Street, when he turned into the direct path of a 2021 Chevy Silverado being driven eastbound on State Road 50 by a 67-year-old man of San Antonio, Texas, FHP said.
The man was thrown from the bicycle and pronounced deceased on the scene; the Texas man was not injured. The crash remains under investigation.
TAVARES, Fla.—A Leesburg man remains in the Lake County Jail, accused of stealing an ambulance from a Leesburg hospital last week.
Derek Tyrone Watkins, 22, was apprehended near Independence Boulevard in Groveland by Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies casually strolling away from the ambulance early Friday morning, dash cam video obtained by Inside Lake shows.
According to an arrest affidavit, Watkins stole the fully-stocked ambulance from the emergency bay at UF Health Leesburg Hospital, 600 East Dixie Avenue, Leesburg, while a paramedic from Sumter County cleaned off a stretcher inside the hospital after dropping off a patient around 2:30 a.m. Friday.
Watkins was spotted hanging around the emergency bay by nurses who recognized him, and video surveillance also showed Watkins, positively identified by the responding Leesburg Police Department officer, in the area of the ambulance, the affidavit states. Another surveillance video showed the ambulance speeding out of the hospital parking lot onto Pine Street.
The Leesburg Communication Center (LCC) tracked the ambulance through Sumter County Fire and Emergency Medical Services, and it was tracked speeding south down U.S. Highway 27 until it finally stopped at 2100 Independence Boulevard, Groveland—more than 14 miles away.
Dash cam video shows the moment a Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputy pulls up on Derek Watkins. *May contain graphic language.*
LCC relayed the tracking information to LCSO, and a deputy spotted the ambulance and Watkins walking nearby. Watkins was taken into custody by deputies and handed over to LPD. He was arrested for theft of an ambulance and theft of emergency medical equipment. All the medical equipment was accounted for following an inventory of the ambulance.
Watkins was transported to the Lake County Jail, where he is being held on $55,000 bond.
CLERMONT, Fla.—A Groveland man was killed, and his two passengers injured, after a tree fell on the truck he was driving, causing him to crash into a dump truck Tuesday afternoon near Clermont, according the Florida Highway Patrol.
Shortly before 4:30 p.m., the 58-year-old Groveland man was westbound on County Road 474 in a 2017 Ford F-350 with a trailer attached, when a tree from the north shoulder fell on the truck, Trooper Migdalisis Garcia said. The impact of the tree caused the Ford to enter the eastbound lane, and the left side of the Ford collided with the left side of a 2004 Mack dump truck.
MAP: Florida Highway Patrol
The Ford’s driver, and his front seat passenger, a 40-year-old Groveland woman, were airlifted to Osceola Regional Hospital in critical condition. The man was later pronounced deceased, Garcia said. A second passenger in the Ford, a 34-year-old man, also of Groveland, was transported to AdventHealth Four Corners Hospital with serious injuries. The dump truck driver, a 47-year-old Kissimmee man, was not injured.
The crash closed County Road 474 between Cemex Sand Mine and State Road 33 for several hours.
TAVARES, Fla.—Lake County Public Safety Communications (911) is experiencing intermittent outages due to Hurricane Debby. Residents may not be able to reach dispatchers in an emergency. If you are experiencing a life-threatening emergency, call the non-emergency number at 352-343-2101.
GROVELAND, Fla.—Two people were killed Wednesday afternoon after they crashed into a tree and were thrown from the ATV they were riding, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
A 22-year-old Sanford man was operating a 2024 Polaris Sportsman ATV northbound on North Austin Merritt Road, north of Ward Drive in unincorporated Groveland at 3:15 p.m., when he failed to negotiate a curve, lost control, ran off the road and struck a tree, FHP said.
He was thrown from the ATV, along with his passenger, a 21-year-old Davenport woman; they were both pronounced deceased on the scene.
LAKE COUNTY, Fla.—The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating two separate crashes that resulted in fatalities Wednesday afternoon.
The first crash occurred at 3:20 p.m. on North Austin Merritt Road near Ward Drive in unincorporated Groveland, according to FHP. The second crash occurred just three minutes later at County Road 435 near Dubsdread Drive in Sorrento. Roads are shut down in both areas.
Details about the crashes were not available at press time. This is a developing story.
TAVARES, Florida—For the fifth year in a row, law enforcement and supporters will join forces for the annual Lake County Back the Blue Walk at Wooton Park Saturday morning, and this year firefighters will join the fun.
Scheduled for 9 a.m., this is one of many law enforcement events around Lake County held in May during Law Enforcement Appreciation Month and this year, Organizer Shannon Cook wanted to add firefighters to the appreciation walk to coincide with the Lake County Board of County Commissioners proclaiming May 4 “International Firefighters’ Day” in Lake County, she told Inside Lake.
“I figured what better day to honor our heroes in red,” Cook said.
The walk began in 2019 to show support for law enforcement during a time when the “defund the police” movement was making its way across the country, Cook said, representatives from several law enforcement agencies and numerous public officials are expected to be in attendance.
“The good ones needed to know they were appreciated,” Cook said.
Ryan Koester, son of fallen Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Wayne Koester, left, and Deputy Koester’s brother Vic, right, at the 2023 Back the Blue Walk PHOTO: Shannon Cook
Cook’s close friend, Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Wayne Koester, was killed in the line of duty Feb. 9, 2005. Koester, who was 33 at the time, and two other deputies were ambushed while responding to a domestic violence call. All three deputies were shot, and Koester succumbed to his injuries; the other two deputies recovered. Jason Wheeler was shot and paralyzed during his capture and convicted in Koester’s death. Cook was also close to Chris Daniels, who was serving as Lake County Sheriff when he was tragically killed in a charity bus race in 2006, on his birthday.
Participants will meet at 9 a.m. at Wooton Park, 100 East Ruby Street, Tavares. The first stop will be the Lake County Administration Building, then a stop at the Tavares Public Safety Complex and the walk will end at Kalua Beach Bar with lunch, provided by owner Randy Connor; come a little early to enjoy donuts and coffee donated by Greg Wilmore of New Life Baptist Church Leesburg.
HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla.— The Florida Highway Patrol is seeking the public’s assistance in identifying a man who carjacked a Groveland man on Interstate 75 early Friday morning.
Around 2 a.m. Friday, a 38-year-old-old Groveland man, working as a supervisor for American Medical Response (AMR,) found a crashed pickup truck on the southbound I-75 exit ramp to westbound Interstate 4. The truck was later found to be stolen, according to FHP.
The Groveland man encountered a man who immediately fled on foot and then saw a second man standing in the road. The second man then jumped on the side of the of the AMR Chevrolet Tahoe the Groveland man was driving and climbed into the Tahoe. The Groveland man was able to open a door and escape, FHP Sgt. Steve Gaskins said in a press release.
The suspect fled in the Tahoe, sideswiped a Nissan Altima on the ramp and continued on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies spotted the Tahoe and chased him, but he evaded capture. A camera system in the vehicle alerted AMR that the Tahoe had crashed at 3720 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Boulevard, Tampa and the suspect fled the scene before law enforcement arrived, abandoning the Tahoe.
If you have information on the suspect’s identity, call *FHP.
See videos of the suspect below. Courtesy of the Florida Highway Patrol
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.
GROVELAND, Fla.—The Florida Highway Patrol continues to investigate a crash that killed a man and two women near Groveland Tuesday.
Around 2 p.m., a 2018 Ford Explorer, being driven by a 47-year-old Grand Island man was stopped, facing east on Bridges Road at County Road 33 when it pulled into the direct path of a 1997 Ford dump truck being driven northbound on County Road 33, by a 63-year-old man of Mount Vernon, Maine. The front of the dump truck collided with the right side of the Explorer. The impact caused both vehicles to leave the roadway and travel into the tree line on County Road 33, according to Trooper Migdalisis Garcia.
The driver of the Explorer, and his two passengers, a 35-year-old woman of Longwood, and a 32-year-old woman of Orlando, were all pronounced deceased on the scene, Garcia said. The dump truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Lake County Fire Rescue, Lake EMS, Groveland Fire Department and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office assisted FHP on the scene.
