Photos for Headline Surfer / ABOVE: Daytona Beach police officer Kevin Fischer was killed in the line of duty - a motor vehicle accident - on Sept. 4, 1998, on Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach, Florida- 24 years ago from today, Sept. 4, 2022. The scene of the accident is shown above and below in the story in greater detail. Fischer, pronounced dead at the scene was only 30 years old. He was survived by his wife, Kim, who was pregnant at the time, with their son, Kevin Jr. Both are shown in a pic from a remembrance ceremony in 2007 in which a stretch of I-95 was renamed in his honor.
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Craig Capri remembers that day better than most others in his law enforcement career.
It was on a Friday afternoon, 24 years ago today on Sept. 4, 1998, a moment in time in which his life as a cop had changed forever.
For Capri, who retired from the Daytona Beach PD at the end of 2020, having risen through the ranks to chief of police 28 years into his 31 years of public service in his three decades with the agency, getting that phone call seemed so surreal and yet all too real. It was as if time itself had stopped.
"I was sitting in my office in the detective bureau doing some paperwork when I answered the phone and was informed Kevin Fischer had been killed in an accident on I-95," Capri told Headline Surfer earlier today. "I remember that sickening feeling in my gut." "I still remember that afternoon; I didn't want to believe it," Capri, now police chief in Eustis since his hiring there in early 2021, said when contacted by Headline Surfer a couple of hours ago.
It was on a Friday afternoon, 24 years ago today on Sept. 4, 1998, a moment in time in which his life as a cop had changed forever. For Capri, who retired from the Daytona Beach PD at the end of 2020, having risen through the ranks to chief of police 28 years into his 31 years of public service in his three decades with the agency, getting that phone call seemed so surreal and yet all too real. It was as if time itself had stopped.
"I was sitting in my office in the detective bureau doing some paperwork when I answered the phone and was informed Kevin Fischer had been killed in an accident on I-95," Capri told Headline Surfer earlier today. "I remember that sickening feeling in my gut." "I still remember that afternoon; I didn't want to believe it," Capri, now police chief in Eustis since his hiring there in early 2021, said when contacted by Headline Surfer a couple of hours ago.
"It was a day I'll never forget," Capri said."
Two other former Daytona Beach police officers remembered Fischer today in Facebook posts.
My first partner on the bike unit in 1995," Penny Vollenbroek Dane posted. "We were part timers, definitely someone I will always remember -- seems like yesterday. Never forget.
Dianna Ullery added, "Rest In Peace my brother in blue. You were the best bike partner I have ever worked with. Miss you."
Daytona Beach Police posted a pic on the law enforcement agency's Facebook page in remembrance of Fischer's traffic death. "On this date 24 years ago, we lost Officer Kevin Fischer," the police department's social media post reads. "Earlier today, we placed a rose on his plaque in the front lobby of our Valor Boulevard headquarters to recognize his sacrifice."
Daytona Beach Police posted a pic on the law enforcement agency's Facebook page in remembrance of motors officerr Kevin Fischer's traffic death on Sept. 4, 1998.
"On this date 24 years ago, we lost Officer Kevin Fischer," the police department's social media post reads. "Earlier today, we placed a rose on his plaque in the front lobby of our Valor Boulevard headquarters to recognize his sacrifice."
Here is a synopsis of what occurred on that fateful day 24 years ago from various press accounts:
Fischer was killed and a Volusia County deputy sheriff and a Florida Highway Patrol trooper were injured Friday when a pickup crashed into an investigation scene on Interstate 95, officials said.
Daytona Beach motorcycle Officer Kevin Fischer and FHP Trooper Stephanie McNeese were parked on the shoulder near the U.S. Highway 92 exit at 2 p.m. when the truck apparently lost control, officials said. The two were investigating an earlier collision involving Deputy Pamela Johnson and another motorist.
Fischer, 30, who was either sitting on his motorcycle or standing near it, was pushed over a guardrail and fell down a 5-foot embankment. He died at the scene.
Johnson, 47, who worked as a bailiff for then-Volusia County Judge Mary Jane Henderson at the New Smyrna Beach courthouse, suffered two broken legs.McNeese and the pickup driver, Kenneth Arthur Noel, 32, of Bunnell, suffered minor injuries and also were being treated at Halifax.
Then-Florida Highway Patrol Lt. Chuck Williams said the initial collision involving Johnson happened about 1:30 p.m. near the Bellevue Avenue overpass. Johnson's patrol car and a car driven by an unidentified woman were northbound. Williams said the motorist apparently lost control of her car and spun into the shoulder before striking the left front corner of the deputy's car. Neither Johnson nor the woman was seriously hurt.
Both vehicles pulled onto the narrow asphalt shoulder, and McNeese and Fischer arrived within 15 minutes to investigate and control traffic. Fischer's motorcycle was parked between Johnson's car and McNeese's, with the other earlier car parked a few feet behind. Williams said none of the vehicles was in the traffic lanes and the police vehicles had their emergency lights flashing.
At 2 p.m., a northbound Ford pickup apparently lost control and ran into the investigation scene, striking the deputy's car and causing it to spin. Johnson's car struck the motorcycle, which then hit the FHP patrol car, throwing Fischer down the embankment. The pickup jumped the guardrail and landed on the embankment.
On Aug. 13, 2007, a stretch of Interstate 95 in Daytona Beach was renamed in honor of fallen Daytona Beach police officer Kevin John Fischer.
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 along the I-4 tourism corridor in greater Daytona Beach to Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed 115 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 such as the George Zimmerman murder trial, Frederick has appeared on national crime shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. AWJ: