SANFORD - A jury has rejected a Central Florida woman's claim that she was behind the wheel of a runaway car when her daughter and another teenager were killed in a high-speed wreck.
Mary Hill, 53, of Longwood, faces up to 30 years in prison on a manslaughter and vehicular homicide conviction for the crash in August 2000. Circuit Judge O.H. Eaton Jr. took the verdict Saturday and set sentencing for April 16.
Hill had three children in the back seat of her BMW when she was driving 70 mph to 75 mph on a 45-mph curve. She took the stand in her defense and blamed the car, saying it went faster as she braked. Assistant State Attorney Bart Schneider called two witnesses who said the former marketing executive was driving fast and carelessly moments before the crash. A BMW engineer also testified about finding no problems after examining the car twice.
Hill's 13-year-old daughter Amy was sitting directly behind her when the driver's side slammed into an oak tree. She and her best friend, 14-year-old Carrie Brown, died at the scene. A 13-year-old boy said he didn't remember the crash, which put him in a coma for three days.
9 charged in Lee County bogus credit card scam
FORT MYERS - Nine people were arrested Saturday and accused of running a credit card skimming scheme that police said charged about $20,000 a week on the cards.
The nine suspects, arrested in a series of early morning raids, are charged with 465 counts of racketeering and fraud.
The suspects are charged with using pager-sized, battery-powered credit-card readers to swipe and store customers' credit card information - including their PIN numbers - which was used to make counterfeit credit cards.
The fake cards were used to buy tens of thousands of gallons of gasoline and then resell it at tremendous profits, State Attorney Steve Russell told the Fort Myers News-Press.
Officials also would not say how many people were victimized.
Plane's nosedive gives lawmaker fright
PANAMA CITY - A state legislator had a brief scare while traveling on a charter plane that malfunctioned and plunged 3,000 feet in less than a minute, but the aircraft's pilots regained control and no one was hurt.
Recounting what he called "a very religious experience," state Rep. Allan Bense, R-Panama City, said he and two traveling companions "literally cheated death" on a flight Wednesday from Pensacola to Panama City. An electrical malfunction in the Beechcraft King Air caused the plane to nosedive.
There was a fire in the cockpit, and the plane's cabin filled with smoke, said Bense, speaker-designate in the state House.
Although the plane rapidly lost altitude, dropping from 5,000 feet to 2,000 feet in about 20 to 25 seconds, the aircraft's two pilots were able to level it off and safely bring it into the Panama City airport.
Stranded retiree survives 2 nights on lake
CLEWISTON - State wildlife officials rescued a retired Fort Lauderdale attorney who spent two cold nights stranded on Lake Okeechobee.
Jack Marcus was collapsed on the bottom of his 17-foot bass boat, hidden by grass and rocks about 40 yards from navigable water, when a helicopter crew looking for him found him on Saturday.
Marcus, 67, suffered hypothermia, but otherwise appeared to be doing well.
He was conscious, alert and talking with hospital staff at Hendry Regional Medical Center, said John Reed, a spokesman for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Clewiston's overnight low was 47 degrees.
The U.S. Coast Guard and sheriff's marine units from Hendry and Palm Beach counties helped in the search, Reed said.
Man, 13-year-old boy shot to death
JACKSONVILLE - A shooting inside a house early Sunday killed a man and a 13-year-old boy and injured a woman, deputies said. The shooter remained at large.
Garrick L. Stringfield, 32, of Jacksonville, and Phillip J. Sims, 13, of Atlantic Beach, were discovered dead in the house by deputies.
The woman, who was not identified, was taken to Shands Jacksonville hospital.
Deputies arrived at the house and heard the woman yelling for help. She told police that she had been shot, an incident report said.
Deputies did not know the relationship between the three victims, but Stringfield and Sims did not live at the house. Neighbors told investigators they heard four or five shots, but did not see anything.
Stringfield had history of prior arrests dating back to 1989, including a kidnapping charge in 2001 and aggravated assault charges in 1990 and 1991.
Man dies in Miami boating accident
MIAMI - A 65-year-old boater was killed and two others survived when their 20-foot pleasure boat sank in Biscayne Bay, the U.S. Coast Guard said Sunday.
The men were anchored Saturday night when their boat started sinking and they abandoned the vessel, according to a news release. People on another boat notified the Coast Guard of the sinking.
Alberto de la Torrez managed to safely swim to a nearby island and Lester Vasquez was rescued from the water by a Coast Guard auxiliary vessel.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission located the body of the dead man, Earl White Sr., about 1 a.m. Sunday, the Coast Guard said.
