The event was the first major biker festival in Daytona Beach since a new state law allowing motorcyclists to ride without a helmet took effect in July. Three of the five killed were not wearing helmets.

Biketoberfest, an annual rally here since 1993, drew a record 100,000 bikers this year.

In the first of Sunday's two deaths, Gary H. Lynch, 48, of Syracuse, N.Y., lost control and crashed his bike at 4:39 a.m. He had no helmet on and suffered an apparent head injury, police said.

Sunday afternoon on U.S. 441 near Leesburg, a motorcycle carrying two riders rammed into a Ford Bronco while leaving a parking lot. The driver, whose name was not immediately released, died. A female rider was in critical condition late Sunday at Orlando Regional Medical Center. Both were wearing helmets, authorities said.

On Saturday, a Jeep Cherokee struck two motorcycles head-on near New Smyrna Beach, troopers said. Wayne L. Kimmons, 38, of Lake Monroe, who was wearing a helmet, was killed when thrown from his machine. The Jeep driver and the driver and a passenger on the other motorcycle suffered critical injuries.

Also on Saturday, a motorcyclist missed a curve in Daytona Beach and was thrown from his bike and killed, troopers said. He was not wearing a helmet. His name was withheld pending notification of family.

Former Alabama state Rep. Lester White, 50, was the first fatality of the festival. White, who was not wearing a helmet, was killed when his motorcycle collided with a pickup truck Thursday.

Small freighter sinks off Miami Beach; crew saved

MIAMI -- A small coastal freighter sank in rough seas Monday off Miami Beach after the U.S. Coast Guard rescued its five crew members.

The Mary Star of the Sea was in anchorage off the entrance to the Port of Miami when it went down, Coast Guard spokesman Luis Diaz said.

The 124-foot, Honduran-flagged ship was one of dozens of small vessels that carry general cargo between Miami River docks and ports in the Caribbean.

"We had a call from the crew last night that the ship was taking on water," Diaz said. "Coast Guard Station Miami Beach responded with a small boat and took the five people off."

A commercial salvage company was called in to assist the ship, but during the night it settled to the bottom, Diaz said.

The ship had 600 gallons of diesel fuel aboard, but there was no indication that the fuel was leaking, said Robert Suddarth, another Coast Guard spokesman.

Vero Beach sailor killed in 'Cole' blast is eulogized

VERO BEACH -- Several hundred people gathered Sunday for the funeral of Electronic Warfare Technician 3rd Class Ronald Scott Owens, one of 17 sailors killed in the terrorist attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.

Dozens of local veterans in Navy uniforms, most of whom never met Owens, were among those who paid their respects in the service at Memorial Island. Navy Adm. Jan Gaudio spoke, and there was a 21-gun salute followed by taps.

Earlier, friends and family gathered in a packed church for another memorial service for the 24-year-old seaman.

"Scott was a hero, but it had nothing to do with how he died," cousin Dawn Baker told the congregation, which included Owens' wife, Jaime, and their 4-year-old daughter, Isabel. "It was because of how he lived his life."

Owens was shipped out on Aug. 8 from Norfolk, Va., where the Cole is based. He was on his first tour of duty when an explosion rocked the Navy destroyer Oct. 12 as it was refueling in the Yemeni port of Aden.

Owens joined the Navy in 1998 and graduated with honors from his Navy class.

A family member said Owens' remains will be cremated at a military base in Dover, Del.

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Lucy Morgan

From the Times state desk