By Times Staff Writer
Published May 2, 2004 DRIVER CHARGED IN HIT-AND-RUN
For weeks, Jennifer Porter avoided cameras, questions and jail. The 28-year-old Muller Elementary School dance teacher was the most prominent suspect in the March 31 hit-and-run that killed two siblings and injured two others.
That ended Wednesday. Shortly before 10 a.m., four weeks after the crash on N 22nd Street that killed Bryant Wilkins, 13, and his 3-year-old brother Durontae Caldwell, Porter surrendered at the Orient Road Jail.
Charged with one felony count of leaving the scene of a fatal crash, she faces a maximum of 15 years in prison. She walked out of the jail in the early afternoon after posting $7,500 bail.
Hillsborough Sheriff Cal Henderson said investigators are confident that the 2000 Toyota Echo Porter drove hit all four children and was likely the only car to hit Bryant, Durontae and siblings Aquina Wilkins and LaJuan Davis. Previously, officials had suspected that more than one car hit the children.
WORKER DIES IN WOOD CHIPPER
A tree service worker trying to dislodge debris from a jammed wood chipper slipped, fell inside and was killed instantly Thursday in Lake Ellen Woods.
Gordon McKay, 51, of 1013 W Woodlawn Ave. was an employee of Albury's Tree Service and was cutting up trees with three or four co-workers at a home in the 3200 block of Rowan Lane, off Fletcher Avenue, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office.
Just before 5 p.m. Thursday, something got stuck inside the wood chipper, and the man climbed on top of the curbside machine trying to clear it, officials said. Somehow, he got caught in the chipper and fell in feet first up to his hips, dying immediately.
Sheriff's officials and OSHA are investigating the incident.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Derrick Brooks and defensive tackle Anthony McFarland had a lot to gain on the Avila golf course Wednesday but came up a few shots shy. And now it's going to cost them.
"The big story line is that (general manager) Bruce Allen and coach Jon Gruden defeated Derrick Brooks and Anthony McFarland 2 and 1 here at Avila, and devastation has set in for two of our key performers," Gruden said.
By losing to Allen and Gruden, McFarland and Brooks lost the chance to get the coach and the general manager's prime parking spots at One Buc Place for a month. Now they must provide throwback LSU (McFarland) and Florida State (Brooks) jerseys to the winners.
"We're looking forward to that presentation later on this month," Gruden said.
PASTOR DROWNS IN LUTZ
The Rev. David Talley couldn't swim. But the 71-year-old former pastor of First United Methodist Church of Lutz loved spending time with his grandsons adrift on Lake Norbert as they fished for bass.
Thursday afternoon, Talley stood up in his 12-foot aluminum boat to bait the hook of Christopher Green, his 6-year-old grandson. Talley lost his balance, toppled into the lake's murky waters and never resurfaced.
By 2:10 p.m., a Hillsborough County sheriff's dive team had recovered Talley's body from a depth of 8 feet.
"He was a bad swimmer," his wife, Ruth Talley, said. "He'd always tell me that he hoped he'd never have to swim those waters."
The couple were to celebrate their 47th wedding anniversary in July.
As pastor of Lutz's oldest church from 1976 to 1995, David Talley had staked a special position in many lives.
"So many folks remember him fondly," said the Rev. Rick Cabot, pastor of the 600-member First United Methodist. "They thought of him first as a friend and then as a pastor."
Talley is survived by his wife, who is 72, their three grown daughters, and five grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, Cabot said the family requested memorial gifts be sent to First United Methodist Church of Lutz, 207 W Lutz Lake Fern Road, Lutz, FL, 33548.
