Disney CM among victims of horrendous traffic crash

[Ed]

There was a horrible accident on I-4 between Orlando and Tampa this morning involving at least 70 vehicles (including 20 tractor trailers), resulting in 4 fatalities so far.

One victim was identified as Darren Scott Snyder, a Disney Animal Kingdom Maintenance Worker. :crying:

I-4 remains totally closed between US27 and State Route 33. It is likely it will not reopen before tomorrow morning.

For details of the crash, here's the latest from the Orlando Sentinel. (http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/state/orl-bk-accident01092008,0,7343581.story?coll=orl_tab01_la yout)

Sincerest sympathies to the families of all the victims.

:(

[DizneyFreak2002]

Not good news.... Sad... Thoughts to the family members of these poor victims...

[IloveDisney71]

That is just awful...prayers are being sent for all those involved or affected. :(

[MinnieMommie]

I just heard this on CNN. This is very bad news. My prayers go out to all who are personaly touched by this.

[Figaro]

I woke up this morning and saw the tail end of this still unfolding when I turned on the TV. I am happy to hear only a few had passed as opposed to the many who possibly could have considering how horrible this accident was. My prayers go out to those family members who are affected by this horrible accident. It's also horrible to hear that a member of our family, a Disney CM, lost their life.

[pink]

My prayers go out to all who were involved in the accident. :(

[murphy1]

I posted this morning about it, b/c I have been on it a million times for my job and was afraid of something like this, here is our post in water cooler, this road is just awful anyway, my mom hates it. I have had two flat tires in this area and I hated driving where all the truckers were. This is really the only way to get from SW coast of FL to Orlando, so it's really bad.

http://www.intercot.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=123456

[FlaTinkRAMESAM]

I-4 should've been closed. People were calling FHP earlier in the morning to tell them how bad the smoke was and that they could see the fire and FHP said "oh yeah, we have it under control." NO THEY DIDN'T... Someone was not where they were supposed to be and was not doing their job. This was a controlled burn that should've never gotten to this level, especially with the horrible fog in the area as well.

This is a horrible tragedy... My heart goes out to the victims, their families, and the rescue workers.

[pwdebbie]

I am part of a e-mail list for wives of ministers and one of our ladies is the dead man's sister.

She posted this morning about the the accident and said that she knew Scott would have been on I-4 at the time of the accident and that they could not reach him by cell phone.

A hundred of us ladies prayed throughout the day. At 5:30 she posted that they were now 99% sure that her brother was one of the fatalities because his burned Mustang was found. They were waiting on dental records for final ID. They will be traveling from OK to FL to be with family.

This is so heartbreaking. All day I kept hoping that she would get a phone call from her brother, but it didn't happen. Pray for the family, this is a tough thing to go through.

Deb

[adoptionislove]

I will be praying for her and her family.

[vizsla]

My prayers go out to all the families.

[murphy1]

Oh, no, Deb, I'm so sorry! I will add them to my prayer list. I was on the phone with my mom last night b/c my dad uses I-4 a lot, but all was okay on my end. I did not sleep well last night.

[Daisy'sMom]

I am so verry sorry for everyone involved in this accident. It was horrible to watch on tv and I can't imagine the pain. My prayers are with all.

[murphy1]

I was sitting here reading the St. Pete Times online and just crying over this accident. I still can't believe it. I have to go on it next month to get to my parents, I drive it about three or four times a year with my kids. The cars look like they were just smashed. I still have scary thoughts driving over the Skyway Bridge b/c I remember the day that got crashed into in the 80's. There are a lot of good, extremely hard-working people in this area of Florida, please continue to pray for them. I know a few of the kids at USF Lakeland, Fl Southern College and in the area high schools live over there that work for Disney, too.

[dna101103]

I want everyone at Disney - Thank You for your thoughts and Prayers,
He was my brother in law and I miss him and his humor so much.
Thank you again for all your prayers .

[BrerEmma]

Peace Be With You.:sorry::tink:

[tinksmom02]

What a horrendous accident. My thoughts and prayers go out to all the families involved.

[Christine]

I just saw the video of this last night...absolutely tragic! It looked like a war torn area! So very sad...tons of prayers to all involved and affected. :(

[CaptSmee]

OMG! The pictures on the orlando sentinel website are stunning! All that smoke!

[murphy1]

I want everyone at Disney - Thank You for your thoughts and Prayers,
He was my brother in law and I miss him and his humor so much.
Thank you again for all your prayers .

I am so very sorry! Please know how many thoughts and prayers go out to you.

[goofy for pluto]

I want everyone at Disney - Thank You for your thoughts and Prayers,
He was my brother in law and I miss him and his humor so much.
Thank you again for all your prayers .


Please know how bad all of us feel for your loss. Our prayers go out to you, and all of the victims families.

[murphy1]

The FHP released this list on Jan 11:

FHP identifies Interstate 4 crash victims
The Florida Highway Patrol has identified some of the people and vehicles involved in Wednesday's crash on the eastbound side of Interstate 4.

The list shows the vehicles that have been validated by the Florida Highway Patrol; not all of the identities of the drivers, other vehicle occupants or the identities of the four people killed have been validated or confirmed by the Florida Highway Patrol as yet.

Due to the damage on some vehicles, the exact year of the model could not be confirmed, and not all drivers and passengers have been interviewed and confirmed as being apart of the crash.

The list is as follows:

Year Make, model Damage Driver, age City Injuries
2006 International semitrailer truck Burned Stephen Harless, 47 Bradenton Minor
2006 International semitrailer truck Heavy damage John Baumgarten, 59 Bradenton Minor
2007 Mack semitrailer truck Burned Ronald Maurer, 53 Bradenton Minor
1987 International semitrailer truck Burned Not confirmed FATAL
1991 International semitrailer truck Burned Andres Marrero, 42 Tampa Minor
2000 Freightliner semitrailer truck Burned Efrain Rivera, 48 Kissimmee Minor
2007 Freightliner straight/box truck Burned Not confirmed FATAL
2007 Freightliner straight/box truck Burned Michael Singleton, 50 Clearwater None
2004 Freightliner straight/box truck Heavy damage Gary, Warner 39 Pinellas Park Serious
passenger: Fred Moore, 37 Pinellas Park Minor
2006 Freightliner straight/box truck Heavy damage Javier Tamayo, 28 Tampa None
1992 Freightliner semitrailer truck Heavy damage Rudy Garcia Tampa Minor
2006 International semitrailer truck Minor burn Ross McGee, 39 Sarasota None
2006 Freightliner semitrailer truck Burned Keith Kenard, 51 Dade City Minor
2007 Ford F-750 Heavy damage UNKNOWN
2006 Hino straight/box truck Heavy damage Kathy Franklin, 42 Tampa Minor
2004 Kenworth stright/dump truck Heavy damage Malcom Houston, 47 Tampa None
2005 Ford Mustang Burned Not confirmed FATAL
1991 Lincoln Continental Burned Not confirmed FATAL
2005 Chevrolet straight/heavy truck Heavy damage UNKNOWN
2005 Ford Crown Victoria Moderate damage Jack Turner, 26 Bartow Minor
Unknown Toyota, unknown model car Heavy damage UNKNOWN
2005 GMC crew cab pickup Heavy damage Chancery Jones, 40 Massachusetts Serious
passenger: Steve Bowditch, 39 Massachusetts Serious
2000 Toyota full-size pickup Heavy damage UNKNOWN
1994 Ford Taurus Minor damage UNKNOWN
2005 Dodge Ram pickup Moderate damage Shelton Williams, 42 Lakeland None
2003 Chevrolet S-10 pickup Heavy damage Samuel Spadavecchia, 61 Lakeland Serious
1995 Geo Prism Heavy damage Dairo Restrepo, 44 Lakeland Serious
2004 Chevrolet crew cab pickup Heavy damage Michael Barton, 33 Lakeland None
2005 GMC pickup Heavy damage UNKNOWN
2005 Chevrolet Malibu Heavy damage Kevin Wilson, 36 Orlando None
Unknown Chevrolet Suburban Burned UNKNOWN
2001 Ford Ranger pickup Moderate damage Gaetan Begin, 59 Quebec, Canada Minor
1999 Subaru station wagon Heavy damage Robert Barnes, 58 Lakeland None
2001 Pontiac Grand Prix Moderate damage Garry Stine, 47 New Port Richey None
2003 Ford Taurus Heavy damage UNKNOWN
Unknown Chevrolet Cavalier coupe Burned UNKNOWN
2002 International straight truck Heavy damage UNKNOWN
2005 Toyota SUV Moderate damage Nancy Sadler, 67 Lakeland None
2004 Chevrolet Avalanche Moderate damage UNKNOWN
2008 Honda Civic sedan Heavy damage Carl Fusaro, 73 Kansas City, Mo. None
1998 Dodge Caravan Burned James Whaley, 54 Plant City Minor
2002 Ford Focus Moderate damage Richard Terrell, 41 Auburndale None
2000 Ford F-150 pickup Moderate damage Carlos Santiago Jr., 42 No

[Not2Loud]

I was staying one exit up from highway 33 that morning. We happened to be in town for a funeral as it was.

It is a terribly sad event, and my family's prayers go out to all involved.

[dna101103]

Thank you all again, Well today was rough, Wed, they will be putting Scott to rest.
I still cant believe he is gone.
We miss him so much and his wife is trying to stay strong, considering the pain has made her
just there , falling apart, barely breathing with a broken heart , that still bleeding, But with pain there is healing and I know she is surrounded by Love and Everyone that loved him . That is what she sees , The Huge amount of Love that is being poured over her from all that just loved him.
Strange days lay ahead of us.
I just miss his Laugh.
SIghhhhh....
thanks everyone .
God Bless you all .

[murphy1]

Angela, praying harder for you today and your family today.

I wanted to share a picture I found of Scott, I read my hometown paper everyday.

http://pics.tampabay.com/?method=view.image&param=29297&param=188