Florida
Retired Canton police officer among Florida residents who lost everything to Ian
CANTON, Ga. – Hundreds of thousands of persons are nonetheless coping with the devastation that Hurricane Ian left in its path earlier this month. A retired Canton police officer and his spouse are amongst many victims in Florida who misplaced all the pieces.
For Scott and Deva Hoffman, transferring to Fort Myers in 2019 was purported to be a contemporary begin after Scott’s retirement and the sudden lack of each Deva’s mom and their son later that yr.
“We would have liked to be some place else, there have been too many recollections at dwelling…we had been making an attempt to simply rebuild our life,” Deva Hoffman informed FOX 5.
Simply three years later, Hurricane Ian introduced one other devastating loss. The couple mentioned they’re now homeless—and counting on neighbors and mates for a spot to remain.
“Our house is gone now, the storm totaled it…the roof’s caving in to the lounge, it shifted off the muse, so it’s completely unlivable,” she defined. “There are tents arrange in a Walmart parking zone as a result of these individuals don’t have wherever to go,” she continued.
Neighbors and mates in Canton are additionally stepping in to assist. One good friend has began a GoFundMe for the couple.
A spokesperson for the Canton Police Division mentioned their officers are additionally making donations to the household separate from the GoFundMe.
“We’re so grateful and so grateful to everybody that’s reached out, the love, the assist,” Deva Hoffman mentioned.
Sgt. Hoffman informed FOX 5 that assist is carrying them by way of this tough time as they put together to rebuild their life as soon as once more.
An announcement from Canton PD reads in-part: “Phrases will fall in need of expressing our deepest sympathies for the Hoffman Household. We will probably be maintaining them in our ideas and prayers.”
In case you’re fascinated about donating to the GoFundMe, you possibly can click on right here.
Florida
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Florida
Florida mother Destiny Byassee killed when fake airbags ‘detonated like a grenade,’ lawsuit alleges
A young Florida mother was killed last year when her car’s counterfeit airbag “detonated like a grenade,” according to a lawsuit.
Destiny Byassee’s used 2020 Chevy Malibu passed through multiple conmen before its fake emergency airbags deployed in a June frontal collision, causing a blast that “shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout” the car, her family alleges.
“Several fragments from the blast struck Ms. Byassee in the face, head, and neck, ultimately killing her,” stated the complaint, obtained by Law & Crime.
The 22-year-old “was a mother of two young children and had her entire life ahead of her,” attorney John Morgan, who is also representing the family, said in a news release.
According to the lawsuit, Byassee bought the doomed sedan from DriveTime, a national used car company, without being given a full history of the car.
The former Enterprise Rent-A-Car car was involved in a devastating September 2022 crash that caused damage that “was so significant that the vehicle should have been classified as a total loss, issued a salvage title, and removed from service,” the lawsuit alleges.
Rather than scrap the vehicle, Enterprise allegedly sold the car to DriveTime through Manheim Auctions, Inc., which bills itself as the largest wholesale automobile auction company in the world.
It was then repaired at Jumbo Automotive in Hollywood, Florida, the complaint continues, claiming that shop owner Haim Levy “purchased counterfeit and non-compliant airbag components” by a Chinese company to replace the Chevrolet factory airbag “and proceeded to install these components into the subject Chevy Malibu.”
Not only were the dangerous fake bags used, but Levy allegedly repaired the deployed seatbelt pretensioner — the part of a complete system that tightens the belt during a crash — incorrectly, but in a cunning way that made it appear to work properly.
Byassee “had no idea that the vehicle had been improperly and illegally repaired,” her family said.
Both the counterfeit airbag and faulty seatbelt pretensioner “were signaled to deploy” during the June 2023 collision, according to the lawsuit.
“However, because the subject Chevy Malibu’s front driver-side seatbelt pretensioner was inoperable, the pretensioner did not deploy as originally designed,” the lawsuit states. “Worse, because the subject Chevy Malibu’s front driver-side airbag system included counterfeit and non-compliant components, the airbag detonated like a grenade and shot metal and plastic shrapnel throughout the vehicle cabin.”
The filing pointedly said that photographs depicted the “horrifying event,” including one of the “shredded and blood-soaked front driver-side airbag.”
Cathy King, Byassee’s grandmother, filed the lawsuit on behalf of the 6- and 4-year-old children the young woman left behind, as well as her husband and mother.
Byassee “believed she was buying a safe and reliable vehicle, but our lawsuit alleges that several automotive companies worked to skirt the system by repairing what should’ve been a totaled vehicle, all just to make money,” Morgan said in the release.
“Because of that, Ms. Byassee lost her life, and her children will grow up without their mother.”
The lawsuit seeks a jury trial on 14 various counts against the various defendants – including strict liability, negligence and deceptive trade practices.
Neither Enterprise, Manheim, DriveTime nor Jumbo Automotive immediately answered The Post’s request for comment.
Florida
Don Moreland inducted into the Florida Law Enforcement Hall of Fame
OCALA, Fla. (WCJB) – A former Marion County Sheriff was inducted into the Florida Law Enforcement Hall of Fame today.
Former sheriff Don Moreland got emotional giving his acceptance speech, more than fifty years after he was elected.
He was Marion County Sheriff for twenty years, from 1972 to 1992.
Once he left his post, former President Bill Clinton made him the Marshall for the Middle District of Florida.
“I am deeply honored being included in this whole thing. When you get to be 90 you really sincerely appreciate everything a little bit more,” said Don Moreland.
Moreland still holds the record for the ‘longest-serving sheriff’ in Marion County.
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