Weather | Sports | Forums | Comics | Classifieds | Calendar | Movies

93-year-old whose car caused grisly death dies

A confused Ralph T. Parker drove 3 miles with a mangled body stuck in his windshield after the Oct. 19 collision. He dies in a nursing center.

ST. PETERSBURG - When is someone too old to drive?

That question was asked last month after a 93-year-old motorist was at the wheel of a car involved in a grisly fatal accident.

The motorist, Ralph T. Parker, hit a man crossing 34th Street S, severing the man's right leg, then drove 3 miles with the body stuck in the windshield. When police asked Mr. Parker what happened, he said the body seemed to drop from the sky.

He thought he was headed north to his home, not south toward the Sunshine Skyway bridge, police said.

Mr. Parker, a resident of Pinellas Park, died Saturday (Nov. 12, 2005) at Bon Secours Maria Manor.

Before the Oct. 19 accident that killed Rade "Rudy" Vec, 52, Mr. Parker had shown signs of dementia. A son left his home in Idaho that week to place him in a safe place. Before he could arrive, Mr. Parker backed his Chevrolet Malibu out of the driveway and went for the drive that resulted in Mr. Vec's death.

According to state records, Mr. Parker had not been cited for any serious driving incident in the past seven years. His history was clean except for an expired tag. He renewed his license in 2003, at age 91. It was set to expire in 2010.

Florida has no comprehensive system for evaluating whether older residents should be on the road. The only age-related requirement is that seniors age 80 or older must pass a vision test when renewing their license, generally every six years.

That went into effect Jan. 1, 2004, two months after Mr. Parker last renewed his license.

Born in Aspinwall, Pa., he came here in 1969 from Avalon, Pa. He was an insurance agent for Prudential in Pennsylvania for 33 years. He was a Navy veteran of World War II and was a member of First United Methodist Church of Pinellas Park.

He was a Mason for 50 years and a past president of the Avalon Borough School Board. He was a volunteer in the Avalon Borough community.

Survivors include a daughter, Barbara I. Thomas, Bethel Park, Pa.; a son, R. Thomas Parker Jr., Boise, Idaho; four grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

No services are planned, said a spokeswoman for National Cremation Society, Largo, which is in charge of arrangements.

--Information from Times files was used in this obituary.