A 68-year-old Ormond Beach man passes away from injuries sustained after the vehicle he was driving went into a pond, leaving him trapped inside.
Two members of the Daytona Beach Police Department (DBPD) arrived on scene quickly and helped free that man from his sinking vehicle – a 2006 blue Buick four-door passenger car – soon after it went into the water near the back parking lot of the Daytona Beach News-Journal (DBNJ) building (901 6th Street) last Thursday (March 11, 2021).
First responders were dispatched to the scene at 3:19 p.m. after a call for help came into the Volusia County emergency dispatch center from a witness.
Two of our officers – Captain Byron Williams and Detective Collin Howell – were near the area when dispatchers requested assistance. They were the first on scene and swam out to the Buick, pulling the driver from the water after taking off his seat belt and removing him from the inside of the car.
Paramedics intubated the driver and transported him to Halifax Health Medical Center (HHMC) as a trauma alert, but in stable condition. He died at HHMC two days later (March 13, 2021).
A 52-year-old Daytona Beach man who was a passenger inside the Buick managed to free himself from the vehicle and get out of the water before first responders made it on scene. He was medically cleared at HHMC before being arrested by DBPD on an open Orange County Sheriff’s Office warrant for failure to appear in court. That warrant is unrelated to this incident.
Prior to his arrest, the passenger told DBPD that he and the driver were drinking alcohol just before they got inside the Buick and attempted to leave the DBNJ back parking lot.
As they drove out, the Buick struck a ground berm, causing the vehicle to go airborne before landing in the pond.
Charges are not expected to be filed in this case.
This is the third fatal accident reported in Daytona Beach during Bike Week 2021.
A 68-year-old Titusville man died following a two-vehicle collision last Thursday night on North Williamson Boulevard near Reliability Way.
A 52-year-old Ormond Beach woman died on the first Saturday of Bike Week after colliding with a Daytona Beach Fire Department truck.