Parade death was avoidable, report says

By Times Staff Writer
Published January 13, 2008

PLANT CITY

The death of a 9-year-old boy who was run over by a Christmas parade float while throwing candy to onlookers could have been prevented, a report said. The city report released Friday said Plant City leaders should change the parade rules, that Jordan Hays was too young to walk the parade route, and that officials should consider banning the distribution of beads and candy in parades. Jordan was killed in the Dec. 7 parade as he reached for more candy. His foot was caught by a float's wheel and he was dragged underneath, authorities said. The report found Jordan's death was not caused by spectators crowding the float, but that crowd control has been a problem in the past. "It is incumbent on the city and all parade organizers to recognize the increasingly aggressive nature of some parade spectators and to take appropriate actions," the report stated. The city's Strawberry Festival Grand Feature Parade is March 3, and officials have said beads and candy will not be distributed.

MADEIRA BEACH

Shrimp boat sinks, spilling diesel fuel

A 33-foot shrimp boat sank Friday night near the entrance to John's Pass, spilling diesel fuel into the surrounding area, Coast Guard officials said. By Saturday morning, the fuel had dissipated. The Coast Guard received a distress call from the boat at about 10:15 p.m. Friday. It had run aground with three people on board, officials said. A local towing company rescued the three crew members and took them ashore. No one was hurt, Coast Guard officials said. The boat, named the Rodac, normally docks in Redington Beach. It had about 200 gallons of diesel fuel on board. The fuel began flowing into the surrounding water, but 2- to 3-foot sea swells prevented response crews from containing the fuel spill, Coast Guard officials said. Officials have not yet determined why the boat sank.

TAMPA

Tip leads to arrest, recovery of goods

An informant on Saturday led detectives to nearly $200,000 worth of stolen goods and two members of a theft ring that operated between a North Tampa apartment complex and South Florida, Tampa police said. Two suspects told the tipster they had stolen a trailer last month from a Days Inn on N Dale Mabry Highway, police said. They wanted him to take the contents of the trailer - 42 boxes of cell phone repeaters valued at $187,000 - to a junk yard. Instead, the man led police to the Regency Park Apartments, 4123 E Linebaugh Ave. Inside unit No. 904, officers said, they found the boxes of repeaters, which enhance cell phone reception in buildings where the quality is poor. Tampa police also recovered three guns, $7,600 in counterfeit cash and one vehicle. Two men, Hector Felician-Pizzaro and Lazaro Raul Fernandez, were in police custody Saturday. Fernandez, 22, "admitted to theft of the trailer, removing the repeaters, and involvement with the counterfeiting," said Detective Steve Brock, who worked on the case.

[Last modified January 12, 2008, 23:26:19]