Daily News...
A well-known member of the local motorcycle community was killed Sunday when he collided with a car attempting to cross the intersection of U.S Highway 98 and County Road 83 in South Walton County.According to the Florida Highway Patrol, David Wayne Beard, 58, of Freeport, was eastbound on U.S. 98 on his 2005 Harley-Davidson motorcycle when a 2010 Lexus driven by Rodney Dixon Dorand, 69, of Santa Rosa Beach, crossed into his path while entering the intersection from CR 83. Beard was unable to avoid hitting the Lexus, striking it on the left front side, the FHP report said.Emergency personnel from the South Walton Fire District responded to the accident and at-tempted to treat Beard, who was wearing a helmet, but he was later pro-nounced dead at the scene, the report said.
Dorand suffered minor injuries.Charges are pending while the investigation into the accident continues.Beard’s daughter, Jessie Williamson, said her family was heartbro-ken by the news.“My dad’s passion was riding his Harley,” she said. “It made him very happy.”Williamson said her fa-ther, a professional roofer, was coming home from a job in Panama City when the accident happened. She described him as “a great man.”“He was extremely funny,” she said. “He loved his kids and grandkids.”
Dangerous intersection frustrates residents
As word of the accident spread, many South Walton residents expressed frustration with what they say are the dangerous conditions at the intersection.The spot has seen an increase in traffic since County Road 30A near Draper Lake was closed for construction of a bridge in September. Walton County created a detour down CR 83, forcing motorists to enter U.S. 98 at an intersection with no traffic light.Grayton Beach resident Cindy Butler said she passed by the wreck just moments after it hap-pened.“It was terrible,” Butler said. “The intersection is so dangerous, because you’re trying to cross a highway where the speed limit is 65 miles an hour.
”South Walton resident Peggy Davis shares But-ler’s concern.Davis said she and other residents made calls to the county and the state before CR 30A was closed. She said a plan should have been put in place to redirect traffic a year ago, when plans were first made to replace the existing culvert at the lake with a bridge.“We ought to do a better job of rerouting traffic safely,” she said. “It’s just a matter of time before someone else gets killed.”Davis added she has heard that a certain number of people have to die at an intersection before the state will consider putting in a light. She’s heard the number is six. Butler said she heard it is four.
“Four deaths equal a traffic light,” Butler said. “That’s what people are saying.”Ian Satter, the public information director for the Florida Department of Transportation’s District 3, said there is no such thing as a “death criteria.”“Unfortunately what you have is Walton County doing a project on 30A,” he said. “Their initial detour route put (traffic) on County Road 83 with an unsignalized intersection.
”Paperwork necessary for temporary light
Satter said in order for the county to get a temporary signal there, paperwork would need to be submitted to the state. Once approved, the county would be responsible for putting a signal in.According to Walton County Public Information Manager Louis Svehla, the Board of County Commissioners will take up the issue at Tuesday’s regularly scheduled meeting at 4 p.m. at the South Walton Annex board room.“Our discussions with FDOT arose about two to three months ago, when we had to detour the traffic,” Svehla said. “But it’s a complicated process.”
Making things even more complicated is the timeline surrounding the installation of a temporary traffic light. Svehla said that if the commission votes in favor of the light, the earliest possible installation date would be around the first or second week in February.According to Svehla, FDOT requires that temporary traffic lights be removed shortly after con-struction is completed on the project related to the light.“The estimated comple-tion date for the Draper Lake project is March 1,” Svehla said. “So the question becomes, does the commission want to spend large sums of money for a light that might only be in place for 20 days or so?
”Off-duty deputies hired by county
About two months ago, the county commissioners contacted the Walton County Sheriff’s Office to arrange to hire some off-duty deputies to maintain a presence at the intersection from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily. The county pays the deputies $25 an hour.“The purpose is to slow people down and let people know that they’re entering a congested area,” said Corey Dobridnia, a spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office.
“The off-duty officers operate their emergency lights and are there in case of an emergency. In fact, the officer on duty Sunday jumped right in after the accident to render aid.”Many South Walton County residents aren’t satisfied with the status quo, however.“They had a year,” Davis said. “They dragged their feet. The county commission did nothing. The state did nothing.“If I were that mother (of the motorcyclist killed), and I knew that bridge was going to be out and nobody did anything, I would sue.”
