Loss devastates newlywed's family
Darren Scott Snyder was on his way to a job he loved when he died in Wednesday's pileup.
By NICOLE HUTCHESON, Times Staff Writer
Published January 11, 2008
LAKELAND - He left home but returned later to retrieve his sunglasses. Now his family wonders if that delay cost him his life.
Darren Scott Snyder, a 35-year-old Polk County man, is one of the four people who were killed in Wednesday's huge crash along Interstate 4, according to his relatives.
As of late Thursday, authorities had not officially identified any of the fatalities, including Snyder. Making positive identifications is difficult because many of the dead were burned severely and need to be identified using medical and dental records, said Larry Coggins, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman.
Early Wednesday, Snyder was on his way to work at Walt Disney's Animal Kingdom when his red Ford Mustang was involved in the chain reaction of crashes.
A Polk County deputy saw him burn to death, relatives said.
Shortly after hearing about the accident, Snyder's family members, who also live in Polk County, began calling his cell phone.
"He left here at 4:30 yesterday morning so we knew he'd be just about at that spot when the accident happened," said Don Ussery, Snyder's stepfather-in-law.
"The policeman who went up there said we'd have to wait on dental records to be 100 percent sure," Ussery said. "But we all know it's 100 percent him."
His wife, Pam, called but Snyder didn't pick up, Ussery said.
Snyder married six months ago in Montego Bay, Jamaica. He was the father to two grown stepchildren.
"He always liked to have a good time," Ussery said. "He was always joking."
Snyder and his wife lived with her parents in Lakeland. His mother-in-law, Mary Ussery, 71, said the family is devastated. "He loved life, he loved her," she said.
Raised in Ohio, Snyder came to Florida by way of North Carolina, where he had a previous marriage and had worked as a plumber, Mary Ussery said. He then came to Central Florida, near his parents.
Snyder was in an apprenticeship program to be a heating and air-conditioning technician at Animal Kingdom. He loved everything about Disney, Mrs. Ussery said, and spent time there even on his days off. In wedding photos, he and his bride wear mouse ears.
Mrs. Ussery delivered the terrible news to her daughter. She choked on tears as she described the moment.
"It was so hard to tell her, 'Honey, he's gone,'" she said. "When your children hurt, you hurt."
The morning he died, Mrs. Ussery got up with him and made coffee. His last words to her before he left: "Mamma, I love you. Have a good day."
Times staff writer Abbie VanSickle and researcher Angie Holan contributed to this report. Nicole Hutcheson can be reached at nhutcheson@sptimes.com or 727893-8828.