fuller
07-08-2003, 10:40 AM
local6.com
July 7, 2003
Police: Motorist Hits Man, Drives Home With Body In Windshield
DELEON SPRINGS, Fla. -- A motorist drove home with the legless body of
a pedestrian in his front windshield before calling authorities to
report that he hit the man with his car, officials said.
Joseph Markert, 57, was trying to cross U.S. 1 in DeLeon Springs when
he was hit by a car driven by Daniel Dradeen, 19, the Florida Highway
Patrol said.
The medical examiner will determine if Markert survived the impact,
but it's more likely that he died immediately, said Mark O'Keefe of
EVAC, which provides emergency services for Volusia County.
Deputies first learned of the accident, which happened about midnight
Friday, from patrons at a bar who called 911 to report finding two
legs near the parking lot, Volusia County sheriff's reports said.
The next 911 call came from the home of Ronald Brownie, where Dradeen
had driven with Markert's upper body. Dradeen had been living with
Brownie and his 19-year-old son Ronald Brownie Jr., who made the 911
call, the reports showed.
Dradeen didn't stop to report the accident because he didn't have a
cellular phone with him and Brownie's home was only about a mile from
the accident site, Brownie said.
"A guy coming through your front windshield tends to rattle you,"
Brownie said.
Paramedics who arrived at the home quickly pronounced Markert dead.
One of his arms was also severed in the accident and found with his
torso in Dradeen's blood-covered car, officials said. Investigators
believe the legs were severed by the impact with the car, not the
windshield.
FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller said Dradeen was not impaired and no
hit-and-run charges will be filed, but she said the case is being
reviewed by a homicide investigator.
"It's the pedestrian's fault. He was wearing dark clothing," Miller
said. "The poor kid (Dradeen) was in the wrong place at the wrong
time."'
DeLeon Springs is about 40 miles north of Orlando.
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July 7, 2003
Police: Motorist Hits Man, Drives Home With Body In Windshield
DELEON SPRINGS, Fla. -- A motorist drove home with the legless body of
a pedestrian in his front windshield before calling authorities to
report that he hit the man with his car, officials said.
Joseph Markert, 57, was trying to cross U.S. 1 in DeLeon Springs when
he was hit by a car driven by Daniel Dradeen, 19, the Florida Highway
Patrol said.
The medical examiner will determine if Markert survived the impact,
but it's more likely that he died immediately, said Mark O'Keefe of
EVAC, which provides emergency services for Volusia County.
Deputies first learned of the accident, which happened about midnight
Friday, from patrons at a bar who called 911 to report finding two
legs near the parking lot, Volusia County sheriff's reports said.
The next 911 call came from the home of Ronald Brownie, where Dradeen
had driven with Markert's upper body. Dradeen had been living with
Brownie and his 19-year-old son Ronald Brownie Jr., who made the 911
call, the reports showed.
Dradeen didn't stop to report the accident because he didn't have a
cellular phone with him and Brownie's home was only about a mile from
the accident site, Brownie said.
"A guy coming through your front windshield tends to rattle you,"
Brownie said.
Paramedics who arrived at the home quickly pronounced Markert dead.
One of his arms was also severed in the accident and found with his
torso in Dradeen's blood-covered car, officials said. Investigators
believe the legs were severed by the impact with the car, not the
windshield.
FHP spokeswoman Kim Miller said Dradeen was not impaired and no
hit-and-run charges will be filed, but she said the case is being
reviewed by a homicide investigator.
"It's the pedestrian's fault. He was wearing dark clothing," Miller
said. "The poor kid (Dradeen) was in the wrong place at the wrong
time."'
DeLeon Springs is about 40 miles north of Orlando.
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