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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
Frank Moore, 52, and son Josh, 18, of Lakeport, as well as Moore's older son, Justin, 23, now a resident of Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., were injured in the crash, which took place around 7:15 p.m. April 12.
They were among 13 passengers in a 22-foot 2000 Crownline power boat that crashed into the rear right side of a 25-foot tug boat that was tied to a dock about a mile north of the Palm Valley Bridge in Palm Valley, approximately 20 miles north of St. Augustine, according to a report from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
The commission reported that five of the passengers were killed. They are: Jacqueline R. Allen, 45, of Jacksonville, Fla.; Olivia Rose Carretero, 23, of South Lake Tahoe; Robert Trenton Craig, 23, of Jacksonville Beach, Fla.; Elisabeth L. Rosenfeld, 20, of Ponte Vedra Beach; and Inmaculada Pierce, 42, of Orange Park, Fla.
In addition to the Moores, others who were injured were Jaimie A. Hole, 22, and Amanda Bartson, 22, both of Santa Rosa; Melvin D. Bethel, 38, Ponte Vedra Beach; Karey Rae Cavicchioli, 19, of Jacksonville Beach; Brittney Nicole Joyce, 19, of Jacksonville Beach; and Jacqueline M. Collins, 23, of Ponte Vedra Beach.
Frank Moore reportedly remains in Shands Jacksonville- Hospital, said family friend, Chad Layton of Lakeport.
Moore's skull was smashed, as were his ribs and pelvis, and his back was broken, said Layton.
Josh Moore was released from a Jacksonville-area hospital after being treated for a broken neck, Layton said. The young man also had some of his teeth knocked out.
Layton said Justin Moore also has been released from the hospital with injuries that include a broken ankle and an ear that was partially cut off.
He said Frank Moore was reported to have been sitting in the boat's bow at the time of the crash, and was the only one in that area of the boat to have survived.
Layton said Frank and Josh Moore had gone to visit Justin Moore in Florida. “They went down last year about this time,” he added.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Transportation Safety Board are continuing their investigation into the crash.
A report earlier this week posted by the Florida Times-Union noted that alcohol was found on the boat.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Lake County News Reports
COBB – A Cobb man has been arrested for assault with a deadly weapon – in this case, a vehicle – driving under the influence, and hit and run after he allegedly rammed his pickup into three different vehicles on Wednesday.
Manuel Alvidrez Garcia, 58, was arrested Wednesday evening, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Tanguay.
At approximately 5:20 p.m. Garcia – who allegedly was intoxicated and angry over the recent loss of his home – was on Highway 175 heading eastbound towards Healdsburg to visit his daughter, Tanguay reported.
Garcia, driving a gray 2001 Dodge pickup with a camper shell, encountered Alan Rudio traveling in front of him west of Socrates Mine Road. Rudio's juvenile son was riding with him as a passenger.
Tanguay said Garcia allegedly deliberately rammed his pickup into the back of Rudio's vehicle, and then rammed it a second time, causing it to spin out in the roadway. Garcia then allegedly fled the scene, traveling eastbound on Highway 175 to southbound Highway 29.
Just before 5:30 p.m., Garcia was traveling southbound on Highway 29 south of Western Mine Road where he encountered Erich Larson, who also was traveling southbound with four juvenile passengers in his vehicle, said Tanguay.
Tanguay said Garcia allegedly passed Larson over the double yellow lines and side-swiped the left side of Larson's van. Garcia then made a U-turn in a dirt turn out and drove northbound on Highway 29.
Just after 5:30 p.m., David Jones encountered Garcia stopped on the right shoulder of the northbound Highway 29 north of Western Mine Road, said Tanguay. As Jones approached, Garcia suddenly pulled out into the roadway directly in the path of Jones.
Tanguay said Garcia continued northbound on Highway at a slow speed. Jones attempted to pass Garcia several times using the passing lane, and Garcia is alleged to have deliberately veered sharply toward the front of Jones vehicle several times successfully ramming it on the third attempt.
Garcia then allegedly challenged Jones to a fight before he abandoned his vehicle on the right shoulder of Highway 29, according to Tanguay.
Tanguay said Garcia fled on foot into Twin Pine Casino. Garcia was identified by witnesses and was located and arrested by Officer Brendan Bach for assault with a deadly weapon (vehicle), DUI and hit and run.
Garcia's bail totaled $21,000, according to jail records. He has since posted bail and been released from the Lake County Jail.
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
The US Geological Survey recorded the quake at 8:09 a.m. at a depth of 1.7 miles.
The temblor was centered one mile north northeast of The Geysers steamfields, four miles west southwest of Cobb and six miles west northwest of Anderson Springs.
Residents of Cobb and Middletown reported feeling the earthquake, with reports also coming from as far away as McKinleyville and Paso Robles.
The last earthquake of note reported in Lake County by the US Geological Survey was a 3.0-magnitude quake on April 3, as Lake County News has reported.
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
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- Written by: Elizabeth Larson
LAKEPORT – A Thursday morning assembly brought an emotional lesson in choices to an end for Clear Lake High School students and parents.
Day two of the school's Every 15 Minutes program concluded Thursday with a mock funeral to commemorate two dozen students who participated as casualties in this year's program.
High school students had watched the previous day as 21 of their classmates were whisked out of class by the grim reaper, with police and Every 15 Minutes student coordinators reading fictional obituaries.
Then, just before lunchtime, they watched as four students were involved in a staged collision behind the school, with three of the students becoming fatalities and the fourth being arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence. One student watching the reenactment fainted.
If the presentation is grim, it's one that's carrying an important message that young people are hearing, because officials reported that now, instead of a young person dying every 15 minutes from an alcohol-related collision or incident, deaths now occur about every 32 minutes.
Seniors Alexandra Wiggs, 17, and Martin Diaz, 18, chose to do the Every 15 Minutes program as their senior project in an effort to help – and to warn – as many people as possible about the dangers of alcohol and drug use.
“This can happen to anyone,” Diaz told the gym filled with students, parents, teachers and law enforcement. “You don't realize what you had until you lost it.”
Nearby was a casket that had been brought by Chapel of the Lakes Mortuary in a horse-drawn hearse, to represent lost lives.
Wiggs said her brother took part in the program four years ago when it last visited the school, and it had a powerful impact on her family.
She said the student participants in this year's program – who stayed overnight together at the National Guard armory – bonded in what was an emotional experience.
Participating parents and students also wrote each other emotional letters, confronting the nightmare of losing each other.
A tearful Tammi Silva described in a letter to her son, Daniel, how she was pulled by a coworker into a meeting on Wednesday with law enforcement officers who came to deliver the teen's death notice. Even though she had agreed to take part and thought she was ready, she said the staged notification caught her unprepared.
“In a flash, I thought of the things I was unable to say to you,” she said, reading her letter.
“Do you know how much I love you?” She asked her son.
She added, “This is the nightmare that haunts parents.”
While it was a traumatic time, Silva said there also was joy in knowing her son is truly alive after the exercise is over.
“Live it, learn from it, share the message,” she told him, adding that the situation was an “intensely real” one for all of the parents.
A video of high school activities, students and the crash reenactment figured prominently in the presentation. It followed the crash scene victims to the hospitals and then to the morgues, where parents went through the exercise of body identifications. The student arrested for DUI also was followed through the booking process.
In her letter to parents, student Alissa Iaccino said she was sorry for the fights she'd had with them. She told them, “I couldn't ask for better parents.”
California Highway Patrol Officer Adam Garcia explained that, in a close knit community like this one, tragedies like the one staged Wednesday affect everyone.
He urged students not to roll the dice with their lives or the lives of others. The impact on families of such choices can't be measured.
“Don't waste this second chance,” he said. “It could be your last.”
Sheriff Rod Mitchell thanked parents for their courage in taking part, and thanked students for being willing to show their vulnerability by participating.
The entire effort, he said, constitutes a large commitment of local agencies and the school district, which he said clearly loved its students to put on the program.
As veteran law enforcement officer who has witnessed many tragic scenes where lives have been lost, Mitchell shared the agony he's seen people experience.
“The program is what happens today, the process is what happens next,” he said, explaining that young and old alike need to keep the promise to make the right choices.
Clear Lake High Principal Steve Gentry said they can see the result of DUI crashes every day, referring to a young professional baseball pitcher who was killed by a drunk driver, and a fatal boat crash in Florida that involved some former Clear Lake High students. He also recounted a fatal DUI crash that claimed the lives of three promising Lower Lake High students 20 years ago.
Lakeport Police Chief Kevin Burke congratulated students and parents for taking part.
“We really try hard to make this program real,” he said.
Burke recounted the death of a college classmate, killed in a drunk driving crash. “The real thing is much, much worse,” he said, adding that he hopes the program will keep young people and their families from experiencing a real tragedy, because that nightmare never ends.
Burke offered a simple message – the choices people make in the future will either save lives or take them. Good choices involve not getting behind the wheel of a vehicle if you've been using alcohol or drugs, and not letting anyone under the influence drive either. He ended by thanking them for their future good choices.
Lakeport Police Officer Jarvis Leishman, one of the event's coordinators, also emphasized, “Choices change lives.”
He said the community worked together through the Every 15 Minutes program to give its young people second chances, and hoped as a result that the community will be a smart, safer place.
When the assembly ended, it was time for tearful reunions for those students, their parents and families who had been part of the program.
Burke said afterward this was the first time he had seen Every 15 Minutes firsthand.
“It's an extraordinary program,” he said. “I have no doubt it makes an impact.”
E-mail Elizabeth Larson at
