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Loss of buddies shocks friends

The two bachelors were familiar to many folks in Floral City. Less than a mile from their favorite diner, tragedy strikes.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published August 16, 2006

FLORAL CITY - On Sunday, two longtime buddies, Rowland C. Dabinett and Gene Edward Odegaard, were following their usual routine, driving on U.S. 41 to eat at their favorite diner.

A waiter at the Country Diner on U.S. 41 said she knew them well, and was expecting them at their usual hour: 11 a.m. They would sit by a window, where one would order lunch, the other a breakfast.

But their trip ended in tragedy less than a mile away from the diner when both men were killed in a head-on collision.

Dabinett, 74, who was called Curly because of his curly white hair, and Odegaard, 76, were familiar to many people in Floral City. Both men had lived there for many decades.

The men's death deeply affected the waiter at the Country Diner.

"There was actually three of them, three men who came in every day and formed a very strong bond," said Gaye Swenson, who waited on the men during the past 12 years. "There was Curly and Gene and another man, Bill Fitch. He died three weeks ago."

A friend of Odegaard said he would stop by his shop to chat nearly every morning. "That was his routine," said Richard Watson. "He'd come here in the morning, and about 11, he'd head over to the diner next door to meet up with Curly."

Watson, who owns Save-A-Buck RV Repairs on U.S. 41 next to the Country Diner, said he knew both men. He knew Odegaard longer, since the late 1960s.

"He was an excellent man," Watson said. "He loved to watch car races and was into rebuilding antique cars."

On Sundays, Dabinett and Odegaard would just drive to the diner, since the RV shop is closed.

Watson said Odegaard owned several antique vehicles, and Dabinett helped him rebuild a motor on an old Ford pickup. The two men became friends.

"Plus they were both bachelors and about the same age, so they built a real good friendship," Watson said.

The accident occurred in front of the Wishing Stone tavern about 11 a.m.

Dabinett and Odegaard were heading north on U.S. 41 in Dabinett's pickup when they collided with a Ford Crown Victoria driven by Scott S. Baker of Floral City, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The accident report states that for some unknown reason, Baker's Ford, heading south on U.S. 41, drifted across the center line and struck the pickup.

"Curly had just bought that pickup about three weeks ago," said Vickie Watson, another friend and the wife of Richard Watson. "We're just all in shock."

Baker, 26, was airlifted to St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa.

A hospital spokesman said Baker was in fair condition Monday afternoon.

Baker worked at the newly opened Huddle House restaurant in Crystal River. He transferred there three weeks ago, from the Huddle House in Inverness. The district manager of both stores said Baker loved to fish when he wasn't working or raising a family.

"Earlier that morning, when he was getting off work, he told me he was going to visit his two children and then go fishing," said Tim Stancil, the district manager.

The investigation into the crash is continuing, according to the FHP.

Swenson, the waiter at the Country Diner, said that in a way, it was a blessing that the two friends died together.

"I know them, and it would have been just really hard on the survivor if one had went first. They were that close."

Jorge Sanchez can be reached at 352 860-7313 or e-mail at sanchez@sptimes.com.

[Last modified August 16, 2006, 06:47:28]