The Vachons
 

Omigosh, I know these people. I knew them from NH and hven't seen them for many years-didn't know they were in TV. I see they lived in Duval but they are not in the phone book. Now, apparently Homer has died and I feel terrible that I can't contact Linda. I realize she is in the hospital now but could you pm me if you know their address or phone number-or maybe the friends', so that I could contact them?

Thank you so much!

Sad to hear he passed - very unfortunate. Our condolences go out to the family - - -

Bill

Very Sad
 

Just a reminder to all. Know where your going and night driving is much different then daytime driving!!

Sorry
 

This is so tragic. My heart is breaking for the family& friends of these folks.Does anyone know a way I can find out the names of the people involved. I play a lot of softball including one season for the Duval neighborhood team & know quite a few people from there.I'm up north for the summer so this info is hard to come by.

Names
 

Homer and Linda Vachon.

village
 

The couple lives in the village of Bonita.

If my count is right that makes 10 golf cart fatalities (POA reported 9 in a previous issue). And to my knowledge, and the writings of others, all the fatalities were caused by some form of ejection from the cart and the drivers hitting their heads on the pavement or the other vehicle.

Is Sgt. Wolfe still going to claim that seat belts should not be used in golf carts in TV? Does anyone know him well enough to bring the stats to him and ask?

I'm a results guy and so far it seems that using seat belts far outweigh not using them based on the real world experiences in TV. Not some old safety film they show about cart roll-overs.

Helmets might be a good idea too.


.

Article link on golf cart passenger ejection
 

Engineering info on Golf Cart Passenger Ejection:
http://technology-assoc.com/articles...t-hazards.html

States in part:

"CPSC injury statistics indicate that approximately 40% of all golf car related accidents involve children (i.e. age < 16) and 50% of these involve a fall from a moving car. As a result, children represent a dramatically large portion of all ejection accident victims."



.

I can see the point of seatbelts but if being hit by a car i would rather be thrown out.You have no chance with belts you would be killed and in a closed casket.But maybe all carts should have them to give people their choice.

Why anyone drives any type of golf cart (street legal or not) on the streets and mixes it up with autos is beyond me. The auto will win every time.

How sad this happened. Prayers and thoughts to the family.

It appears from various comments that some people do not effect defensive driving protocols Carts may be pleasure vehicles but they still can result in human pain and suffering and property damage

I remember taking a defensive driving course that was sponsored by the company I worked as mandatory for all employees driving company vehicles.

The speaker was a police officer. Wearing a seat belt was optional at the time but he strongly suggested wearing one. I'll never forget that he stated,
"I never unbuckled a dead person".

It makes me sad that one could make a fatal mistake and caused themselves and love ones so much sorrow.

This episode will cause me to be extra careful while on a golf cart in TV.

I am very sad to read of this terrible tragedy in The Villages.
I am also shocked that anyone would insert such a tasteless joke (page 3) within such a serious thread. That was disgraceful and totally inappropriate.

My sympathy to the family and friends of this couple.

Correction to my last post

page 3 #19

.............imho a little humor softens the harshness of reality.........and it's page 2 #19:popcorn:

pages vary by user (for me it's page 1) but it's #19 in this thread regardless.

That police officer must have worked only a few accidents, or been really lucky. In Lexington, we have had several dead people still wearing their seat belts, two were friends from college.

Well, there are golf cart trails along Buena Vista south of 466A:undecided:

Oh, no!
 

Soooo sad.....

And they are currently barricaded to prevent golf carts from using them. Why have them open to the public when there is really no place to go to yet?

Me too .....In fact can tell you in some cases that seat belts were directly the cause of serious injury or death.

Seat belts prevent people from being thrown from a vehicle. they also reduce interior collision wherein people are through agains doors, roofs, etc.
This can be a fortuitious or not.

Having said that I will not leave my driveway without buckling up.

However suggesting that seat belts be mandatory for golf carts is fraught with problems and logistics...and may only provide a false positive when it comes to protection and safety

A neighbor and I were discussing this matter today. He told me that the golf cart was street legal.

I don't know if that is accurate or not. But if so, that explains the cart in that area.
Driving southbound in northbound lanes is inexplicable.

Regardless of any and all factors, it's still tragedy for all concerned, including the driver of the "other vehicle" who will forever be traumatized by horrific mental pictures and emotional/psychological damages.

Very sad
 

According to the newspaper, the victim's wife was driving the cart. My heart goes out to her. What a terrible tragedy.

Our villages rep had sold them their home. He was so sad when we worked with him this week. He told us that they were such a lovely couple.

No one knows for sure why they were there so late in the evening and I believe I understood that they were in the traffic circle going the wrong way.

They didn't know who they were for awhile at the hospital. The husband was airlifted to a hospital in Orlando and then later after assessment here, so was the wife.

I know that I don't take I.D. a lot of times just driving around in the golf cart.

My heartfelt sympathy to their family.

I've been reading this thread for a while now and also feel that it's a sad, sad situation. No one really know how or why this happened. I noticed from the time on the emergency radio report that it was around 9 PM. My guess would be that someone, if not everyone was driving without their lights on. At that time of evening, it is not quite dark and lots of people don't use their lights until they can't see. I can understand people not using their lights if they have an electric cart. You'll run the batteries down quicker. This is another reason we purchased a gas cart. We use the lights day and night. Not necessarily to see, but to be seen.

Please update
 

Have heard of a golf cart being broadsided on St. Charles on or about 6/30/2011. Please post any details you may have. I have a home in TV but am on an assignment in the Middle East. Thank you

Does anyone know how many people have died in golf cart accidents, and over what time period? Seems we are hearing it so much more now.

Irish,
There was a study done for safety in 1984 for the Villages. (My son worked with a team on it-he's an engineer) At that time there had been 10 fatalities and many, many more accidents with serious injuries. Have no idea what numbers would be today.

I am going to Hijack this thread
 

My neighbor, Frank Calhoun, just died from injuries sustained in a golf cart accident yesterday at St. Charles and Southern Star. His cart was broadsided. Please join me in praying for his wife Nancy and her family. TY. :cryin2:

Salybow: did this accidnt involve two golf carts or a car and a golfcart?

Sad news. Thoughts and prayers are with the family.

Bill

It appeared to involve a golf cart and a pick up truck pulling a trailer.

We live in Southern Star Villas. It was a golf cart and a pickup. Don't know about the trailer. The police had blocked off Southern Star Way at St. Charles for quite a while. Later I saw the golf cart and pickup on flat bed haulers. The golf cart was bent, I guess you could say, and the truck appeared untouched. Don't know why the truck was being hauled away, maybe for evidence.

So sad and unnecessary.

I know a lot of us newbies don't realize the stops at St. Charles are NOT 4-way.

According to the Daily Sun article, the driver of the golf cart was thrown out and then run over and dragged by the pickup truck and trailer. It did not assign blame to either since there will be an investigation.

Prayers up for the family. So very, very sad. I am very sorry to hear this news.:cry:

So sad again!

Let's send this one to Lt. Wolfe. Two in one month where the driver was thrown from the cart and THAT was probably the cause of death.

Don't care what Sumter County Sheriff dept. says - I'm getting belts in an upgraded seat.

Sounds like belts could have saved another TVer. So sad.

Yesterday's POA Newsletter stated 10 deaths over 5 years. Tragic but not a lot for a community this size with 50,000 golf carts competing with cars and trucks.