News Update for 2/27/23
Cars were on track last weekend for the Sports Car Vintage Racing Association’s SpeedTour, but already fans are lining up for this year’s Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring.
Officials at the Sebring International Raceway say that vans and motorhomes already have started to line up in the parking area across from Gate 4 in anticipation of the 2023 edition of the Oldest Sports Car Endurance race in North America.
In fact, the track had a trio of pace car appearances over the weekend in the area, with another spate set for next weekend. There, they have the new pace car on display and are giving out event posters.
Avon Park city council members will be mulling over their contract with City Manager Marc Schrader when they meet in regular session this evening. At their last meeting, Schrader announced this is the end of his current three year pact, and is ready to renegotiate.
In other action, the council will again look at their lease with the Avon Park Historical Society for the train depot on Museum Avenue. Meanwhile, the society has started a fundraising drive to add a baseball museum as an annex to their current location.
Highlands County safety services were busy over the weekend. They first responded to an RV fire. Avon Park Lakes firefighters were called to the Taunton Road address, but the motorhome was completely destroyed – as was a a nearby car. No injuries were reported, the cause remains under investigation.
Later, Desoto City firefighters were called to the Sebring Regional Airport, when a single-engine plane made a hard landing. One person suffered minor injuries when the Globe Swift GC-18 apparently put down without landing gear.
The National Transportation Safety Board will investigate that one.
One person was killed and another seriously injured in a Lake Wales traffic accident. According to police in the Crown Jewel of the Ridge, a Chevrolet Camaro was southbound at a high rate of speed, and slammed into the back of a pickup.
The car flipped several times, ejecting both occupants. Dead is 38-year-old Eliecer Padilla, a second occupant, Jeanette Gonzalex was airlifted to Lakeland Regional in serious condition.
A search is underway to find the driver who killed a woman in a hit-and-run in Polk County. That one happened Saturday night in Lakeland on West 10th Street.
Lakeland Police say a female pedestrian was found lying unresponsive in the street. The 37-year-old died at the scene. Investigators are looking for a silver car with front-end damage and maybe a dent on its right rear bumper.