A 76-year-old Daytona Beach man traveling north on U.S. 1 was killed this afternoon when he collided with a Waste Pro maintenance truck that was pulling out of a service station in Korona.
The fatal wreck took place at 3:20 this afternoon. The victim was Gene D. Wilson. The driver of the Waste Pro truck was Charles W. Bowen of Palm Coast.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol sergeant at the scene, Wilson, who was wearing a helmet, was on the inside lane, traveling at around 60 to 65 miles per hour–within the posted speed limit on U.S. 1–when Bowen began pulling his Waste Pro truck out of the Hess service station at 6701 South US1, just south of the highway junction with Old Dixie Highway. Bowen, the sergeant said, must not have noticed the blue scooter traveling north.
The scooter, a 2006 Suzuki Bergman 400 Type S, hit the left front of the truck, a 2007 Chevrolet pick-up, ejecting the rider onto the hood of the truck. The front of the scooter was virtually demolished. The truck’s left-front side was severely damaged. The highway patrol put the damage at $20,000.
Non-criminal charges are pending, according to the highway patrol, whose report states that Bowen “violated the right of way” of Wilson’s scooter.
Traffic backed up somewhat as one of the two northbound lanes was closed until the medical examiner reached the scene after 5 p.m. and the victim was taken away.
Melanie says
Thoughts and prayers are with the family who lost a loved one.
karen schwab says
People really need to pay attention on that road….more and more motorcycles these days.
Kevin says
This is an example of exactly why I sold my motorcycles. You can drive as safely as you want but when someone pulls out in front of you at the last moment while you’re driving above 20 miles an hour, you tend to either get severely injured or killed.
I had two accidents, both lay-downs of my bikes, both the other person’s fault for, take a guess…pulling out in front of me from their parking spot in front of that pub that so many unsophisticated palates considered good on Granada—Billie’s Crap (Tap) Room. On another occasion, I had the unfortunate luck to hold a motorcyclist as they perished in my arms while waiting for an ambulance back when I lived in Naples. That accident was due in fault someone turning in front of him and t-boning him while both he and my vehicle we’re traveling together in the opposite direction enjoying the breezes and life, while it lasted for him. It is a stirring and tragic event to see the eyes glaze over as the soul leaves the body.
joe cancemi says
Doug (Gene Wilson) was the coolest guy I knew, at age 76 he had a girlfriend(the ladies loved him!), he still played a mean doubles tennis game, especially his overheads and serves and volleys, and he still owned a Beechcraft Bonanza in natural aluminum, I recall him doing a beautiful low pass over the Madison NC airfield. Rest in Peace Old Friend….