Memorial Day weekend roadway death toll in Volusia County stands at 2: Port Orange biker and Pierson car passenger

DAYTONA BEACH -- The number of people killed on the roadways of Volusia County stands at two with the most recent a 56-year-old Port Orange motorcyclist in a crash near Daytona Beach on Sunday afternoon, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

William Lee Hughes was riding his 18981 BMW motorcycle northbound on north on Tomoka Farms Road when he was struck by motorist Lakecia Harris in a 2007 Chevrolet, who ran a red light at the intersection while heading west on International Speedway Boulevard, troopers said. Hughes was thrown from his bike and pronounced dead at the scene of the 3:34 p.m. accident.

Harris, 31, was treated at Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach for minor injuries. Charges are pending against Harris as the traffic homicide investigation continues.

In the first fatality of the holiday weekend, A 25-year-old Pierson man was killed Saturday night after leaping from a moving car in DeLeon Springs, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office reported.

Jose Perez was in the front passenger seat of the car while his girlfriend was driving. Perez wanted to drive, but the woman refused to let him because he was drunk, Sheriff's spokesman Brandon Haught said. As the argument escalated, Perez suddenly opened his door and jumped out, the spokesman added.

The woman immediately pulled over, and paramedics and Sheriff's Office deputies were called to the scene. Perez was taken to Florida Hospital DeLand by EVAC ambulance where he later pronounced dead.

The girlfriend, Iris Hernandez, told deputies that she was driving north on State Road 11 shortly after 9 p.m. She said that Perez repeatedly asked her to let him drive, but she refused. That's when he opened the car door and jumped.

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