Local News Now

Paul Rooy, 56, shown here at left, was a pilot and patent attorney with his law office in Daytona Beach. He died Wednesday in a plane crash at the age of 56.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A pilot was killed when his single-engine airplane crashed shortly after take-off this afternoon from New Smyrna Beach Airport, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

"The Cessna 337 had taken off from the airport when it went down sometime later in an open field near the city’s sports complex," Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "The tower manager at the airport called in the crash at 1:13 p.m. The plane broke apart upon impact, killing the pilot. No one else was on board, and no one on the ground was injured."

EDGEWATER -- Yes, in the past few years here in the United States we have had many school shootings most recent Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 20 kindergarten children and six adults were killed' We ask why.

Why is this violent act keep happening? Either the shooter is mentally ill or looking for revenge, or comes from a broken home, poor upbringing lacking love, and discipline and respect.

EDGEWATER -- Odd how people are all up in arms about the Boy Scouts maybe changing their policy and letting in scouts and leaders who are gay. Are they naïve enough to believe that gays have never been in any scout groups in the past?

North Samsula Drive and Strawberry Lane in Samsula was the scene of a deadly wreck Saturday night as shown in this locator map.

SAMSULA -- A 37-year-old New Smyrna Beach man was killed Saturday night when he was ejected from a car that struck a cement culvert and flipped.

David Legler, who was not wearing his seat belt, was pronounced dead at the scene of the 11:20 p.m. crash on North Samsula Drive and Strawberry Lane.

The driver, Donna Leo, 48, also of New Smyrna Beach, suffered only minor injuries behind the wheel of her 1996 Honda Accord. She was transported to Halifax Medical Center in Daytona Beach. 

Gracias por sus oraciones. Sabemos y confiamos que Dios esta al control. Todo saldra como esperamos para la gloria y honra de El.

NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- A message in Spanish to family and friends on Facebook is how Moises Hernandez Rivero is communicating with family and friends while he prays for a miracle as the authorities continue searching the waters off the North Causeway for his missing Apopka father, who left behind a vehicle and empty trailer Wednesday night at the city boat ramp and has been missing since.

Drugs and ledger recovered in wooded area of Oak Hill

EDGEWATER -- An Edgewater woman is facing numerous drug charges after she was spotted walking into the woods with what turned out to be a portable meth lab in a bag, a Volusia County Sheriff's official said.

Narcotics investigators also recovered a ledger that appeared to be used to document drug sales, agency spokesman Gary Davidson said, leading to the arrest of 33-year-old Jennifer Huffman (on charges that included manufacture of methamphetamine, possession of methamphetamine, trafficking in methamphetamine, possession of listed chemicals and possession of drug paraphernalia. Her initial bond was set at $155,000.

Two students are in juvenile cstody after bringing a loaded hangun onto the campus.

DELTONA -- The Volusia County Sheriff's Office arrested two Deltona High School students late Thursday afternoon after a school administrator found a loaded gun in one of the student's backpack. A campus advisor was the first to spot the suspicious activity, at first thinking that he might have witnessed a drug transaction.

Because of his suspicious behavior, 16-year-old Erick Graham was escorted to the dean's office, Sheriff's spokesman Gary Davidson said. "But instead of drugs, a search of Graham's backpack turned up a loaded .25-caliber handgun tucked in a sock. The gun had one bullet in the magazine."

The Sheriff's Office's school resource deputy assigned to the school was called in to investigate, Davidson said.

"Upon questioning by the deputy, Graham initially denied knowing anything about the gun or how it ended up in his backpack," Davidson said.

Courtesy photo / James Franco, shown here at , is the grand marshal for the Daytona 500.  Last year's grand marshal was swimsuit model Kate Upton. The 2012 Daytona 500 was won by Matt Kenseth. The video highlights the first two laps.

DAYTONA BEACH -- The Daytona 500 is going Hollywood. James Franco, star of the Disney adventure "Oz The Great and Powerful," which is scheduled for release on March 8, will serve as grand marshal for the 55th running of the Daytona 500 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday, Feb. 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

Banker active in Daytona Beach-area civic and charitable organizations

Photo for Headline Surfer / Richard Luce, a veteran banking manager shown here at left, has been promoted to a senior management position with Intracoastal Bank. Luce also is active in several Daytona Beach-area civic and charitable organizations.

PALM COAST -- Bruce Page, president and chief executive officer of Intracoastal Bank, announced the addition of Richard Luce as vice president/portfolio manager.

In this capacity, Luce will oversee all aspects of Intracoastal's loan risk management function and will provide a wide range of credit and sales support services to the bank’s lending group.

“We are thrilled about Richard joining our team," Page said Thuesday. "As a lifelong resident of this area and his vast experience in banking, Richard will continue to play a vital role within the bank.”