Florida's Recent News

A 28-year-old man from Alberta, Canada was pronounced dead after being discovered unconscious while free diving in waters off Key West, authorities confirmed Wednesday. According to Monroe County Sheriff’s spokesperson Adam Linhardt, Pieter Lodewikus Botha was spearfishing with a group of people from a private boat near the Western Dry Rocks area around 4 p.m. Tuesday when he was found unresponsive on the sea floor. Authorities said Botha was taken by paramedics to the Opal Key West Resort & Marina

 A woman was killed Wednesday morning in a rear-end crash on State Road 528 near Florida’s Turnpike in Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol said. The fatal wreck was reported around 8:30 a.m. in the westbound lanes of S.R. 528, east of the Turnpike. The FHP said the woman was driving a 2024 Hyundai Tucson and failed to stop for traffic ahead of her, crashing into the back of a box truck. Troopers said the woman was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center

A father was at the Metrowest Detention Center facing a charge of child abuse on Tuesday night in Miami-Dade County, records show. Police officers arrested Jorge Enrique Arias on Monday afternoon at the Frances S. Tucker Elementary STArts Magnet School in Miami’s Coconut Grove, records show. According to the arrest report, Arias’s 12-year-old son showed up to school on Monday morning with dry blood and his stepmother told a detective that his father had punched him in a car. According

A woman who was hit by a vehicle and killed Monday evening on the west side of Tallahassee has been identified as a Florida State University sophomore. An 18-year-old has been arrested in connection to the fatal incident. A Florida State University spokesperson identified the victim as 20-year-old Elizabeth “Ellie” Sims. She was hit by a car while walking near West Pensacola Street. The Tallahassee Police Department said the fatal crash happened around 6:40 p.m. Monday. Sims, a sophomore, was from Franklin,

Clearwater first responders found a dead body inside a burning car in a hotel parking garage early Wednesday. Police and Clearwater Fire and Rescue responded about 2:30 a.m. to the car fire on the third floor of the parking garage at the Edge Hotel at 505 S. Gulfview Blvd., according to the Clearwater Police Department. After firefighters put out the fire, they found a dead person inside the car. Investigators were working to determine how the person died and how

The Lee County Sheriff’s Office said a woman threw a machete at her neighbor’s face after he asked her to keep the noise down. The attack was caught on camera. Jamie Dos Santos said he was trying to sleep around midnight on Monday when his neighbors started partying outside his house off 10th Avenue in the Pine Manor neighborhood of south Fort Myers. Dos Santos said he walked outside and begged his neighbors to keep the noise down. “Ruby or

A Flagler County high school student will be sentenced Wednesday after violently attacking a teacher’s aide last year. In October, Brendan Depa pleaded no contest to aggravated battery charges in the February 2023 attack at Matanzas High School. Depa kicked and punched the school employee after he became upset that his Nintendo Switch was taken away. According to an arrest report, Depa — who is 6 feet, 6 inches tall and 270 pounds — punched the woman a total of 15

 A man was shot by his neighbor early Wednesday at a mobile home park in Volusia County, according to sheriff’s officials. The shooting was reported around 4:50 a.m. at Luna Sands Resort on Minnesota Avenue near Orange City. The Volusia Sheriff’s Office said the victim was shot in the shoulder but was alert and talking. The suspected shooter was taken into custody. No other details, including what led to the shooting, have been released. Check back for updates. Negligent shootings

A 53-year-old man from Pahokee died in a car crash during Tuesday’s rain showers in Belle Glade. Around 5 p.m., Louis Santos was driving on Connors Highway in Belle Glade when he began to lose traction because of slicked roads after a day of rain. Santos lost control of his Honda because of “poor maintenance,” namely, worn-out tires, according to the crash report. Santos reportedly slid sideways into an oncoming car that hit the passenger-side of his Honda. He was

A man was injured after being hit by a car in Altamonte Springs. The Altamonte Springs Police Department says it happened just after 5:30 a.m. Wednesday. They say the man was taken to the hospital after being hit by a car crossing the road at Westmonte Drive. Two of the right lanes of SR-436 westbound are shut down just off of I-4. This is a developing story. Navigating the aftermath of a pedestrian accident can be overwhelming, but you don’t

 Police are searching for a victim and suspect following a chaotic brawl inside Lucky Strike in downtown Miami where cellphone video showed a bowling ball being hurled at someone’s head. The video, taken by a bystander, shows a group of people in a physical altercation as drinks, punches, and bowling balls were being thrown and then a woman yelled ‘Ouch’ once, and was hit in the head by one of the bowling balls. “Bowling balls were being thrown left and

A man was killed in a Tampa crash Tuesday evening along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard near I-75, authorities said. The Tampa Police Department said officers responded to the crash just after 9:15 p.m., and found the man dead from his injuries. The northbound lanes of Bruce B. Downs Boulevard at I-75 were closed off because of the crash. Tampa police said the lanes will remain closed until they finish investigating. The cause of the crash is under investigation. Pedestrian accidents can result