Florida Highway Patrol Crash Report Says Driver Of Pickup In Fatal Lumachi Collision Was "Asleep or Fatigued"; Mr. Lumachi Was Wearing Seat/Lap Belt And Driver Of His Vehicle Had "No Contributing Action"; Accident Remains Under Investigation

The Flordia Highway Patrol says the fatal crash remains under investigation; the traffic crash report includes basic information collected by the agency.

The traffic crash report indicates Mr. Lumachi was riding in the back seat of the Lincoln Town Car on the left (driver's) side with Pacific Gateway Workforce staffer Erick Serrato driving and Boardmember Larry Rice in the front passenger seat.

The report indicates (citing the judgment of the investigation officer) that the driver of the 1994 Ford F-150 pickup truck, Keith Andrew Weitzman, 25, of Little Torch Key, FL, "failed to keep in proper lane." It says the driver of the rented Lincoln [Mr. Serrato] had "no contributing action" in the collision.

The crash report indicates the area of initial impact was between the Lincoln Town Car's front and rear seats. It indicates Mr. Lumachi used his "shoulder and lap belt" and wasn't ejected. [To our knowledge, Florida law doesn't require rear seat passengers to use seat belts although California law does.]

The report indicates the Lincoln Town Car was traveling at an estimated speed of 35 mph in an area with a posted speed of 45 mph. It indicates the pickup truck was traveling at an estimated speed of 50 mph in the area with a posted speed of 45 mph.

A narrative accompanying the crash report [caveat: crash remains under investigation, see below] indicates that the Ford pickup was traveling north and the Lincoln Town Car was traveling south. The report indicates the driver of the pickup "fell asleep and [his pickup] crossed into the southbound and merge lane. The driver of the [Lincoln Town Car] tried to avoid the crash by driving into the southbound merge lane. The front of [the pickup truck] struck the left side of [the Lincoln Town Car]. After impact, the [pickup truck] rolled to its top, facing west on the merge lane and grassy shoulder. [The Lincoln Town Car] after impact slid down a grassy embankment coming to final rest facing north."

The crash report indicates the driver of the pickup was "distracted [lists] by other inside the vehicle." The report indicates the other person in the pickup was an eight month old child [same last name as driver, we presume his son]. The reference to the driver being distracted states "explain in narrative"...but there is no explanation regarding this item in the crash report's narrative.

The crash report includes basic initial information (direction of travel, on-scene officer observations and the like) but it isn't a final accident report. Sgt. Tom Pikul, Public Information Officer with the Florida Highway Patrol, tells LBReport.com that the accident remains under investigation. Under Florida law , the state's attorney [prosecuting agency] has up to 90 days after an accident to decide whether to file charges and if so what they will be.

Messrs. Lumachi, Serrato and Rice had flown overnight to Miami one day before the start of a conference about 250 miles away in St. Petersburg, rented.a Lincoln Town Car in the morning and headed south to the Florida Keys (roughly 300 mile round trip with a Mapquest.com estimated driving time of about three and a half hours each way) and were about a dozen miles short of Key West [location by Florida Highway Patrol] when the fatal crash occurred.

They had planned to spend the night at a hotel in Miami, then drive the next day roughly 250-300 miles to the conference site in St. Petersburg.

Two separate City Hall sources have independently told LBReport.com that it's common practice for city employees to add personal excursions to city-related travel and either not seek city reimbursement for those costs, or personally reimburse the city for any personally incurred expenses. [LBReport.com doesn't imply, and invites no inference of, impropriety in the trip to Miami and Key West since we have no evidence of such.]

As previously reported by LBReport.com, the LB City Attorney's office is in the preliminary stages of gathering information on the Florida trip. City Attorney Bob Shannon has told LBReport.com that this a normal course of events in an accident involving a city employee or a volunteer that might involve potential legal issues for the City.