A man who crashed during Hurricane Idalia is now Florida’s fourth storm-related death
Hurricane Idalia’s death toll in Florida rose again on Monday when the state reported its fourth storm-related fatality — this time in Pasco County.
A 40-year-old man driving in Dade City died Aug. 30, the day Idalia made landfall, after his vehicle veered off the roadway and collided with a tree, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement said. The area medical examiner’s office confirmed the death on Monday to FDLE — increasing the death toll from three to four.
“It was windy and raining at the time of the crash because of Hurricane Idalia,” Dana Kelly, a spokeswoman with FDLE, told the Miami Herald in an email.
Authorities didn’t immediately release the identity of the victim.
Idalia was the first major hurricane to hit Florida’s Big Bend in more than 125 years — causing widespread flooding, life-threatening storm surge and power outages throughout the region.
The state’s other three Idalia-related death occurred in Dixie, Brevard and Alachua counties.
FDLE on Thursday announced the death of a 90-year-old man who died after a tree fell onto the tractor he was operating while clearing out storm debris in Dixie County. The man was trapped under the tree for about 20 minutes until he could be extricated, according a report of the local medical examiner’s office. He was placed into hospice care on Sept. 4 and died the next day.
The date, time and exact location of the incident wasn’t immediately known.
Last week, the state also confirmed the death of a 60-year-old man who drowned while windsurfing in Brevard County waters.
Greggory Johnston was riding on a sailboard near the area of Kelly Park in Brevard’s Merritt Island on Aug. 30 when he disappeared, the local sheriff’s office said at the time. Deputies started searching for him around 7 p.m. after finding the man’s vehicle at the park — spotting his board and windsurfing sail the next morning.
The body of the Merritt Island resident was found Sept. 1, Deputy Sheriff Tod Goodyear, a spokesman with the Brevard Sheriff’s Office, told the Herald.
READ MORE: 60-year-old windsurfer ID’d as Florida officials report second Hurricane Idalia death
The first fatality that state officials linked to Idalia occurred in Alachua County. There, the medical examiner reported to the state that a 59-year-old Gainesville resident died after his vehicle “left the runway and struck a tree,” Plessinger detailed to the Herald.
According to Florida Highway Patrol, a Toyota Tacoma pickup truck was traveling westbound on State Road 20, just east of Southeast 60th Ter., when it veered into a ditch during “extremely rainy conditions.”
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“The Toyota continued through the ditch until it crashed into the nearby tree line,” highway patrol said.
This story was originally published September 11, 2023 at 8:19 PM.
