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Deputy dies with girlfriend after bikefest

Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Pack, 35, was planning on working his way up the ranks at work, and loved to ride his custom Harley on the weekends. Debra Nolan, 38, was also killed in the Saturday evening crash.

By SHADI RAHIMI
Published April 30, 2006

PALM HARBOR - Pinellas County Sheriff's Deputy Robert Pack loved his job, his girlfriend and his burgundy Harley-Davidson.

It was the love of biking that put him and girlfriend Debra Nolan in harm's way Saturday. As the couple motored home from Leesburg Bikefest they collided with a car turning left from County Road 611 onto Sandy Point Road in Palm Harbor.Both were killed.

The driver of the 2005 Nissan was Janine Paschall, 37, of Palm Harbor. She was treated for minor injuries. No charges were filed and Florida Highway Patrol was still investigating Sunday evening.

Sheriff's Sgt. Jeff Esterline remembered Sunday how much in love Pack, 35, and Nolan, 38, had been and how much fun they had early Saturday.

"Then there was tragedy at the end of this wonderful day - they died together."

The last time Sgt. Esterline saw his friend was in East Lake, when their group of seven split up on their way home from the Bikefest.

Pack and Nolan had headed south on his 2004 custom Harley, with a detective, a co-worker and her husband riding close behind.

Just over an hour before, the group had stopped at a barbecue restaurant in Land O'Lakes, where they shared stories about working for the Sheriff's Office.

"We were laughing so hard the tears were streaming down our faces," Esterline said.

Esterline received a call about the crash about 7:45 p.m. The news of the deaths sent tremors of pain through the Sheriff's Office.

"I'm just devastated, and so everyone at the agency, and his family," said Pack's supervisor, Lt. Sean Jowell. "It was very unexpected and it's very traumatic. He was loved by everyone."

Pack had been looking forward to the week ahead, Esterline said. He had requested the week off to make repairs on a new home he had bought in St. Petersburg about eight months ago.

Nolan, whom he had been dating for about a year, was a caretaker in Dunedin for her mother, who is ill and homebound, Esterline said. Nolan's family could not be reached Sunday.

Jowell said that Pack had worked on cruise ships for a decade, first as a ballroom dancer and then as an assistant cruise director.

In 1995, Pack joined the Sheriff's Office, determined to rise through the ranks, as his father had, Jowell said. Pack recently announced plans to pursue a degree in either criminology or public administration.

As a senior patrol deputy, Pack was assigned to the Lealman neighborhood. He worked nights, and "absolutely loved his job," Jowell said.

On weekends, Pack often rode his Harley and had begun to attend motorcycle events with others from the Sheriff's Office. At work, he was known to go out of his way to help, Jowell said.

"It didn't matter if it was the end of his shift, he did it all the time for any call that he was on," Jowell said. "He followed up to make sure everything was right."

[Last modified April 30, 2006, 20:36:11]