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Fatal accident on interstate shatters family
By BRADY DENNIS, Times Staff Writer BROOKSVILLE -- Everett and Peggy Dorr loved country music. She liked George Jones. He preferred Shania Twain. They also loved traveling, although they missed their dog and cats back home in Ellsworth, Maine, not to mention Peggy's Beanie Babies collection. But more than anything, the couple loved their family. They had five sons, two daughters. They also had grandchildren. "They were kind and loving," said Mary Haney, Peggy's sister, from her home in Maine. "They loved their family very much. It was important to them." True to form, the Dorrs were surrounded by family when tragedy struck early Tuesday on Interstate 75 near the Hernando-Pasco county line. Family members said the couple, along with six other family members, left Maine a week ago, headed for Florida in their Ford Econoline van. They spent time in Orlando with one of the couple's daughters and her husband. They were headed north to Kentucky on Tuesday to visit a son and his family in Fort Knox before returning to Maine. They never made it. Witnesses said Everett Dorr veered off the left side of the road about 7:30 a.m., then overcorrected. He then swerved across both northbound lanes and hit the shoulder of the highway, causing the van to flip and roll numerous times.
The Dorrs, and at least several other family members, were thrown from the van. "It seemed like that van was never going to stop rolling. People were flying all out of the windows," said environmental technician Ken Durhams, one of only two witnesses to the crash. He stared at the sky while recalling the wreck, his hands shaking, blue eyes filled with tears. "I've logged more than a million miles in this state, and I've never seen anything like that. Never." Everett Dorr, a retired Vietnam veteran, was pronounced dead at the scene. Peggy Dorr, who worked for a bank, also died at the scene. Florida Highway Patrol troopers said that at least three, but possibly more, of the other relatives were flown by helicopter to Tampa hospitals. Two people were taken to Brooksville Regional Hospital. Michelle Tetrault, 25, remained in serious condition at St. Joseph's Hospital in Tampa on Tuesday. Injuries to the other family members do not appear to be life-threatening, officials said. The other passengers were Everett Dorr Jr., 26; Lisa DeLong, 18; Candi Dorr, 17; Lisa Sutherland, 34; and Terry Sutherland, 7. Troopers said no one in the van wore a seat belt. Wreckage from the accident was scattered across the east side of I-75, including an N'Sync CD and pillow, a pair of inline skates, suitcases and backpacks, a brochure from Universal Studios, a Dr. Doolittle video, a disposable camera, and a pack of Oreo cookies. The accident stopped northbound traffic on the interstate for more than two hours, creating a logjam that backed up for miles. Troopers began to divert traffic off the interstate in Pasco County and onto Spring Lake Highway. But FHP spokesman Lt. Sterling King said traffic delays were inconsequential. "Whenever you have a whole family like this, especially when you lose a couple of them, that's a tragedy within itself," King said. Tragedy seemed like an understatement Tuesday to Haney, who was trying to come to grips with her sister's death from hundreds of miles away. She said both her parents and another brother live in Ellsworth, and "we're a close-knit family." "I'm in shock," Haney said. "It's horrible. They were wonderful." -- Times researcher Kitty Bennett and staffer Joy Davis-Platt contributed to this report.
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From today's Hernando Times |
