Photo for Headline Surfer / Dawn Marie Abraham, a married mother of five, lost her life under bizarre circumstances that remain unanswered more than four years later.
DAYTONA BEACH -- Because she couldn't afford to make the $150 bail at first appearance following her April 8, 2009 misdemeanor DUI arrest, a 41-year-old Ormond Beach woman she spent six days locked up in the Volusia County branch jail.
The tragic circumstances of Dawn Marie Abraham's death, comes in at No. 483 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the Top 500 Stories as part of the 24/7 internet newspaper's 5th anniversary.
Had someone come up with the 10 percent required for the bond, a mere $150, perhaps things might have turned out differently. After all, some people don't hold up so well while locked up in what may very well have been the first time Abraham found herself behind bars.
Had someone come up with the 10 percent required for the bond, a mere $150, perhaps things might have turned out differently. After all, some people don't hold up so well while locked up in what may very well have been the first time Abraham found herself behind bars.
She had no prior arrests in Volusia County, court records show.
As remote as that might be, perhaps that could possibly explain why Abraham, a married mother of five, was walking totally nude from the waist down, carrying clothing and shoes when she was walking on U.S. 92, when she was struck and killed by a young motorist who tried to avoid hitting her, but to no avail in a split-second reaction behind the wheel in the dark of night.
That Abraham had been released at 5:56 p.m., a full five hours earlier, is yet another unexplained circumstance. And why was she still within walking distance of the jail?
It was just before 11 p.m., when a car driven by then-21-year-old Krystle Gousse of Deltona exited the Interstate 4 off-ramp onto U.S. 92, and tried to avoid hitting Abraham who was thrown onto the hood and across the rear of the vehicle before she landed face first on the roadway, the Florida Highway patrol said. She was prounounced dead at the scene.
Troopers had no answers as to why Abraham was semi-nude. And sadly, the DUI charge, for which a not guilty plea had been entered on her behalf while jailed, was dismissed on May 5, a full three weeks after her horrific death.
Dawn Marie Abraham, age 41, of Ormond Beach, passed away Tuesday, April 14, 2009 in Daytona Beach. A memorial service in her honor will be held 11 a.m. Thursday (today), April 23, 2009, at the Daytona Chapel Lohman Funeral Home. Dawn was born in Missoula, Montana, and graduated from Tennessee Tech as a Certified Nurses Aid. She worked for the VA Hospital, nursing homes and most presently as a private in home care giver for terminally ill patients. She will best be remembered as a loving mother and caring friend and will be missed dearly. She is survived by her husband, Matt Abraham; and children, Christopher Brassard, 21, Henry Poe, 14, Sarah Abraham, 11, Robert Abraham, 9; and a stepdaughter, Alexis Abraham, 19. Arrangements are under the careful direction of Lohman Funeral Home Daytona Beach. Condolences for the family may be shared at www.lohmanfuneralhomes.com.
Recap Top 500 Stories:
483. Bizarre 2009 tragedy: Woman nude from waist down struck & killed on road in Daytona after release from jail
484. Volusia County candidate consultant Jim Oddie meets Romney and Ryan in advance of GOP convention.jpg)
485. Gene Emter wins Edgewater city council seat in special election
486. Holly Hill woman calls in bomb threat from work resulting in evacuation; tells cops she 'needed a break'
487. Former South Daytona Mayor Joe Piggotte dies at 81
488. Ponce Inlet Councilman Joe Perrone holds onto seat with 1-vote plurality.jpg)
489. Edgewater's Tia McDonald featured in book.jpg)
490. Flocks of sick or deceased birds dot shoreline
491. Softy Jason McGuirk gets NSB Commission seat nobody else wants
492. Christmas comes early in 2010 for New Smyrna Beach with $402,500 fire rescue vehicle, complete with plaque
493. Convenience store clerk in Ormond Beach draws own knife to scare off knife-wielding robber
494. Former Oak Hill Mayor Donna Jane Bennett dies in 2009, a decade after exiting the political stage
495. Biketoberfest 2011 in New Smyrna Beach a bust
496. Topless woman holds up DeLand traffic
497. Oak Hill proud of its Super Bowl connection in winter resident Larry Csonka
498. Stetson University mourns passing of retired President H. Douglas Lee in 2009
499. Kilo of pot washes ashore on New Smyrna Beach on July 4th weekend
500. Celebrating 5 years of covering greater Daytona Beach & New Smyrna Beach with 24/7 internet newspaperHeadline Surfer 5th Anniversary Advertising---------------------
