Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1, before switching to the Top 5 storylines -- the good, the bad & the ugly on the horizon in "2022: The Year That Lies Ahead."
Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Seth A. Whitmer, 29, is shown along with his 1999 Honda VT 1100 motorcycle in pics (left) from his Facebook page; and (at right) the deadly accident scene involving the bike and a school bus at the intersection of Nova Road and Madison Avenue in Daytona Beach. Neither the bus driver nor the 14 students from Mainland High School were injured in the March 9, 2021 crash.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- A South Daytona resident on his motorcycle in Daytona for Bike Week suffered catastrophic injuries in a collision with a school bus back in March during Bike Week that resulted in his passing eight days later in the hospital.
Seth A. Whitmer was transported as a trauma alert patient to Halifax Health Hospital by paramedics in a collision with a school bus during which he was thrown from the bike, but he died eight days later on March 17, 2021, in the ICU. Whitmer was 29 years old and left behind a wife and young child.
Seth A. Whitmer was transported as a trauma alert patient to Halifax Health Hospital by paramedics in a collision with a school bus during which he was thrown from the bike, but he died eight days later on March 17, 2021, in the ICU. Whitmer was 29 years old and left behind a wife and young child.
Here is a synopsis of what occurred at the crash scene at the intersection of North Nova Road and Madison Avenue as described by Daytona Beach Police PIO Messod Bendayan in a series of email media alerts to Headline Surfer:
Witnesses at the scene called 9-1-1 at 3:46 p.m. Tuesday, March 9, saying that a motorcyclist had crashed into the school bus inside the intersection and was thrown from the motorcycle following the impact. Daytona Beach cops responded quickly to the scene, finding Whitmer on the ground with severe injuries.
"Investigators believe Whitmer was heading southbound on Nova on his black 1999 Honda VT 1100 motorcycle when he ran the red light at the Madison intersection, striking the tire and tire rim on the front driver’s side of the bus as it attempted to turn north on Nova from the eastbound side of Madison," Bendayan said.
No injuries were reported by the Volusia County bus driver or the 14 passengers on board the bus, all of whom had boarded at Mainland High School.
Whitmer was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision.
This was the sixth fatal accident during Bike Bike - three of the dead bikers during the 10-day rally that drew upwards of half a million tourists to the Daytona Beach area from across the US and Canada.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.