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Courtesy photo/Daniel N. Raimondo
Tuesday's tragic traffic accident that resulted in the death of bicyclist Daniel N. Raimondo near the North Causeway Bridge is a stark reminder of just how precious life is in our beloved New Smyrna Beach. The 16-year resident was 60 years old and his loss is our's.
After a couple weeks of unseasonably cold weather, the return to sunshine and short sleeves earlier in the week was a welcome return.
Mr. Raimondo, a father and grandfather, who was often seen riding his bike on the beachside where he lived, likely enjoyed the warm-up like the rest of us.
So it was especially sad and tragic that on a warm, sunny afternoon, Mr. Raimondo darted across the road and into the path of an oncoming motorist who had a green light heading south on Peninsula across the Flagler Avenue intersection.
Not only did Mr. Raimondo lose his life, but a 24-year-old driver has to live with the memory of a horrible accident that was through no fault of his own.
Police, fire and ambulance response was almost immediate and intense as paramedics worked on him while the Volusia County Sheriff's Air One helicopter landed on the North Causeway drawbridge to transport him.
As a result, police, led by Cmdr. Bill Drossman rerouted traffic away from both ends of the bridge. This created a traffic logjam for the side streets of Flagler and Peninsula, with motorists forced to use the South Causeway Bridge to get to and from the beachside.
Traffic was a mess for the better part of an hour, following the 2:08 p.m. accident, but it had to be this way because a man's life was on the line as anyone who watches our posted video can clearly see. An Evac ambulance transported Mr. Raimondo to the helicopter, but en route to Halifax Medical Center, he succumbed to his injuries.
Absolutely sickening in the wake of this were some anonymous bloggers on the NSB Shadow Web site that same night blaming congested traffic for the fatality and using this as an opportunity to slam the city's efforts to bring a proposed Hampton Inn & Suites to the west end of Flagler Avenue.
Let's be clear about this: One has nothing to do with the other. Mr. Raimondo's death was a tragic accident, an isolated incident for that time and place.
No matter one's opinion on the hotel, trying to use Mr. Raimondo's death as a rallying cry to protest the hotel is just plain foolish and insulting to his memory.
Mayor Adam Barringer said his heart goes out to Mr. Raimondo's family as well as his appreciation to the emergency personnel who responded.
Sera and I echo the mayor's sentiments.