Florida Injury Victim Lawyer Blog

A motorcycle accident claimed the life of a Florida motorcyclist when he plunged from the Interstate 95-State Road 84 ramp. The accident has renewed calls for authorities to make the I-95 ramp safer.

Errol Michael Etosha Dodd, 24, of Miramar, suffered a fatal fall from the ramp at about 3:30 a.m., when he attempted to head from southbound I-95 to toward the New River bridge, just north of westbound State Road 84, on his Honda motorcycle, Florida Highway Patrol spokesman Lt. Earl Brown said.

Dodd was in the right outside lane of I-95, approaching the New River bridge overpass at the State Road 84 exit, when he tried to pass a white Cadillac Escalade, Brown said. Instead, Dodd struck the SUV's right side, lost control of his bike and plowed into a concrete barrier wall.

After the impact Dodd, who was wearing a helmet and a motorcycle jacket, fell 60 feet onto the riverbank below, Brown said. He died at the scene.

"It seems unreal," Dodd's mother Georgia Fyffe said Sunday. "They need to put something there to prevent motorists from falling."

The fatality is one of several that have occurred at or near the multiple ramps at I-95 and State Road 84 this year. In April, Shawn Montero, 30, hopped over the low-lying barrier wall to relieve himself, apparently not realizing there was nothing to stop his fall. In June, William S. Wehner, 57, was driving north on I-95 when he crashed at the State Road 84 exit ramp. In February, three men died when their car vaulted the elevated exit ramp and plunged onto I-95 below.

Florida Department of Transportation officials recently began reviewing the ramp design and were improving lighting and signage, authorities have said. Earlier this month, the DOT announced workers would install a 4-foot chain-link fence atop the barrier walls of I-95 near the New River overpass. They are expected to be finished by December.

Authorities have said no matter what they do to make the road accident-proof, ultimately, drivers must look out for themselves.

"It's a tragic event," Brown said of the accident that killed Dodd. "We're always promoting and trying to educate the public on traffic-related safety, especially with motorcycles."

Dodd's friends and relatives said he loved his red bike. After brushes with the law as a juvenile, he got a job at a thrift store, stocking and driving. He lived with his mother and brother in the 7500 block of Grandview Boulevard and rode with other motorcyclists.

He'd been riding around downtown Fort Lauderdale with a few others the night of the deadly crash, Fyffe said.

"He was always a safe rider," said Reagan Arjoon, 24, whose older brother and Dodd often rode together. "They know that when you ride a bike, you gotta respect the bike. "

News of Dodd's death drew many friends to his home Sunday. They called him "Smiley Dodd" or "Dollar" because he always friendly and respectful, someone who watched out for others.

"Everybody on the block feels it," neighbor Sharon "Mama Soul" Belnavis said. "They've got to do something about that railing, it could've been anybody. It's enough, too many deaths already."

Source: Macollvie Jean-François, South Florida Sun Sentinel