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This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Dirt bike collision kills area teen

2008 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

By RICHARD DYMOND rdymond@bradenton.com

MEMPHIS -- A 15-year-old boy was killed in a head-on collision of dirt bikes in a county park Sunday afternoon.

Denzel McClendon, 15, of the 5600 block of 22nd Street West, Bradenton, a ninth-grader at Bradenton Prep, died at the scene of the accident in Sylvan Oaks Park on 17th Street East, just east of Palmetto, a highway patrol officer said.

Injured and flown by emergency helicopter was Trey Murray, a junior at Palmetto High School, a teacher said.

The Florida Highway Patrol investigator at the scene, Cpl. David Brunner, said witnesses told him the two teenagers were riding dirt bikes fast in the park, and riding at each other before veering off.

"We heard they were playing chicken," Brunner said.

An hour after the accident, the two off-road, dirt bikes were on their sides, abandoned, in the middle of the park. Around them, yellow crime-scene tape marked an area the size of a football field.

Hundreds of onlookers watched from behind the tape and, to intensify the tragedy played out in the middle of a field, Denzel's mother was helped out of the ambulance where her son's body lay and collapsed several times as she tried to walk.

The head of schools at Bradenton Prep, Susan Hedgecock, said she had talked to people at the crash site and she heard that the accident was head-on.

McClendon died within minutes of the crash.

Family arrived at the park and found McClendon already with a sheet over the body, said Manatee County Commissioner Gwen Brown, who drove by the scene and stopped.

Brown said the crash site, which appears to be about three football fields long, is county-owned property with no trespassing signs, but may need a specific ordinance against dirt bikes. What makes it tough is that youths are using the field for recreation rather than a street, but it's still not a good choice, Brown said.

"I understand it's an empty field," Brown said. "But it's uneven. Besides that, it's not a suitable place to ride dirt bikes. This is county-owned property."

Brown said she would try to get the county attorney to pass an ordinance prohibiting dirt bikes from the field at the park.

A crowd gathered as emergency services personnel frantically tried to save the victims.

Hedgecock was deeply saddened.

"We're devastated. Denzel was well respected by his peers. He was a student athlete, who was working hard academically. He was one of our star football players," Hedgecock said.

The injured teen also was a football player as a junior at Palmetto High School, his coach, LeRoy Bostic said.

"Trey is a very hard working young man and a kid any mother or father would love to have," Bostic said. "He's a good student."

Bostic said he found it hard to believe the boys were playing the dangerous game.

"I don't think Trey would do that," Bostic said. "Both boys had too much going for them. It was just an unfortunate accident."

Brown spoke with relatives of the boys.

"This is extremely upsetting, a tragedy on Mother's Day," she said.

The accident at about 6:15 p.m. occurred in Sylvan Oaks Park near the entrance of the Sylvan Oaks subdivision on 17th Street East - east of Palmetto.

At 7 p.m. an emergency helicopter took off from the park with Murray, headed for a St. Petersburg hospital. There was no word on his condition.

The park site on 17th Street East (also known as Memphis Road) was near the intersection with Sixth Avenue East just a few blocks from U.S. 41 to the west.

Submitted on 05/12/2008

Submitted by: Robert Medlin
Reference: Bradenton Herald.com 5/12/08

Copyright © 2008 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Other
Unfortunately, altho this could apply for a DA in every other way, these two are below the maturity cut-off of 16. Otherwise, this might be the kind of story that could get thru. Oh, and an original write up highlighting the juicy parts never hurts. Thank you, and try again!


Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Repeat
Thanks, we've already received this story. As Candi indicated we can't accept it due to the age of the boy.


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