CRESTVIEW — A resident was struck by a vehicle Oct. 20 on his way home on Stillwell Boulevard, injuring him and breaking his electric chair.

David Newcomb, a manager at Pizza Hut, lives on a street off Stillwell. On his way home from work after 9 p.m. that Friday, a car hit the back of Newcomb’s wheelchair and fled the scene.

The vehicle that struck Newcomb from behind may be a late 1990s or early 2000s model of a white four-door sedan. It may be missing a front passenger's side headlight, according to the Florida Highway Patrol media release.

“I was coming down the road, I had my lights on… and I heard a horn honking, and I woke up lying in a ditch,” Newcomb said. “When I woke up, there were already police around me.”

From the accident, Newcomb was transported to Fort Walton Beach Medical Center with numerous bruises, lacerations in his back, and bleeding in his brain. He is recovering at his Crestview home.

Newcomb, 32, has used a wheelchair since being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at 18 years old. He said his wheelchair cost $60,000 and is now unusable; a back wheel is missing and the lift system is broken.

“He waited several years to get that electric wheelchair and it was amazing,” Angela Jones, an acquaintance of Newcomb’s, said. “He could lift himself to standing positions.”

According to Newcomb, the wheelchair company said they can’t replace the chair unless the police catch the person who hit it.

Newcomb now uses a regular, non-motorized wheelchair, which he said is difficult because his electric chair helped him get around his home, where he lives alone. He also said he’s worried about how it will affect him when he returns to work.

“This is the only town I’ve ever lived in that busy roads don’t have sidewalks,” Newcomb said. “People are so impatient. Sometimes they will drive into oncoming traffic to get around me.”

Other residents agree with Newcomb’s feeling toward the lack of sidewalks on Stillwell.

“I wish they would put sidewalks down Stillwell,” Beth Reynolds said. “It really is a dangerous road. I work at Azteca [Mexican Restaurant] so I see David in passing on my way to work often.”

According to Lt. Eddie Elmore, public affairs officer with the Florida Highway Patrol, there have been 15 crashes involving pedestrians on Stillwell Boulevard within the past year.

Stillwell is within the jurisdiction of Okaloosa County, and county officials said it will be some time before sidewalks are installed on the road.

“Okaloosa County has received a grant from [the Florida Department of Transportation] for the design of the sidewalks along a portion of Stillwell in the current fiscal year,” Public Works Director Jason Autrey said.

“Funding for construction has not been identified until [fiscal year 2023].”

“This is the only town I’ve ever lived in that busy roads don’t have sidewalks. People are so impatient. Sometimes they will drive into oncoming traffic to get around me.”

—David Newcomb, hit-and-run survivor

WANT TO HELP? Residents who want to contribute to David Newcomb's recovery fund can do so athttps://www.gofundme.com/new-wheelchair-for-david.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'It really is a dangerous road'

CRESTVIEW — The Crestview Fire Department hosted a child passenger safety day at the fire station, where firefighters inspected and installed child safety seats.

Children could view fire trucks, walk through the smoke safety house, receive fire safety tips and participate in a child safety and fingerprint station conducted by the Crestview Police Department. Firehouse Subs supplied food and beverages for firefighters and guests.

Saturday's event concluded Child Passenger Safety Week in Crestview, where firefighters had been administering child safety seat checks all week.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Fire department teaches child safety

CRESTVIEW — Java drinkers are searching for new venues to get their caffeine fixes while Starbucks remains closed more than a week after a mishap damaged the building.

A U-Haul truck driver misjudged the rental vehicle’s height and smashed into the coffee shop’s north entrance awning, ripping it from the building.

Following the Sept. 16 incident, a handmade sign propped at the barricaded entrances stated Starbucks was “closed for the weekend.”

However, a Starbucks employee, who was not authorized to speak to the media and requested anonymity, said during the subsequent temporary repair, including putting a blue tarp over part of the north façade, it was discovered the damage was greater than expected.

“When they assessed the damage, they found structural damage to the building and it has to be fixed before any of us are allowed back in,” the employee stated in an email.

The business will likely be closed for at least a month while repairs are made, the employee said.

“Our store is temporarily closed as we make minor renovations to the exterior awning following this incident,” Starbucks corporate Media Relations stated. “The safety of our stores is our top priority and we are grateful no one was injured.”

Callers to the Crestview Starbucks’ phone number are greeted with a message saying, “We are currently closed for renovations and will be open again soon.”

Meanwhile, coffee drinkers are discovering alternative venues, including the downtown Casbah Coffee Company, where co-owner Bill Toannon said he’s caught some good-natured ribbing from customers.

“People joke with me and say, ‘Did you rent a U-Haul truck the other night?’” Toannon said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Starbucks expected to re-open in a month

LAUREL HILL — Four recently decorated Almarante Volunteer Fire Department firefighters exemplify the value of the organization’s training program and its members’ devotion to their North Okaloosa County neighbors, Chief Charles Carroll said.

Deputy Chief Ryan Jaycocks and firefighters Sean Epperson, Randle Henderson and Scott Zamorski received the department’s first Chief’s Recognition Awards for their efforts at an Aug. 23 house fire.

When the fire broke out in the Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire Department’s jurisdiction, Almarante provided a mutual aid response, with its new Engine 52 the first unit on the scene, Carroll said.

Under Jaycocks’ command, he and Epperson, the department’s newest firefighter, laid down a suppression stream of water on the flaming residence.

Then they learned from the resident that her three dogs were still in the home.

PRAYING FOR RESCUE

“This lady was praying that her dogs would come out alive,” Carroll said.

Attempts by the News Bulletin to contact the homeowner for comment were unsuccessful.

As Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire Department firefighters arrived on scene and attacked the fire from the outside, Henderson and Zamorski donned oxygen packs and crawled into the home.

“It was very smoky,” Zamorski said. “We were on our hands and knees calling for the dogs. It was so smoky and steamy in there, and then suddenly he was there right in our face,” he said of the first dog.

“I said, ‘You’re coming with me,’” Zamorski said. “I took him outside and the lady was just ecstatic. Then she said, ‘There’s two more in there.’”

“We just swapped (oxygen) bottles and we went back in,” Henderson said.

“Those dogs, when they came out of that smoky environment, their tails were waggin,’” Carroll said. “This is what it’s all about: saving lives. It makes no difference if it’s an animal or a human.

“We spend a lot of time training these guys and when it’s time to put up or shut up, it’s good to know they can do what they need to do.”

MUTUAL AID

The Rev. Mike McVay, chief of the Laurel Hill Volunteer Fire Department, praised his colleagues south of town and the congenial working atmosphere they share.

“We appreciate all the help we get,” McVay said. “We’re in the business of serving the community. We’re volunteers, so it’s important to work together to take care of the needs of the community. Most of us have other jobs and responsibilities so it’s important we can work together.”

Almarante also received accolades from the Panhandle Animal Welfare Society, known as PAWS, whose executive director, Dee Thompson, and community development director Denise Song presented the four firefighters with the agency’s Golden Paw Award of Valor.

“It was real heroic, what they did," Thompson said.

PAWS also presented the department with a set of pet oxygen masks that adapt a mask designed for humans to dogs’ and cats’ snouts.

As the firefighters, fire district board members, community supporters and PAWS representatives enjoyed cake after the Sept. 22 ceremony, the decorated firefighters reflected on their Aug. 23 response.

“That night we fulfilled Almarante’s motto: ‘Saving life and property,” Zamorski said. “Three dogs were rescued and the house was still standing.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: ‘What it’s all about: Saving lives’

CRESTVIEW — State Road 85 is open following a three-vehicle collision around 11:45 near the FLA Gas and Exodos Ministries thrift store on State Road 85 North.

Crestview Police reported a green truck, a silver Toyota sedan and an SUV had a chain collision, with airbags deployed in some if not all of the vehicles.

Because of fluid leaks on the highway, the Crestview Fire Department also responded.

Okaloosa County EMS transported two people to the North Okaloosa Medical Center.

Traffic was restricted to two lanes as emergency responders worked the scene, with southbound traffic backing up several blocks at one point.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 3-vehicle wreck slows lunchtime S.R. 85 traffic (VIDEO)

CRESTVIEW — As images of bloodshed, the sound of gunfire, the flash of blue police lights and the wail of sirens filled TVs, computer monitors, tablets and smartphone screens in the wake of the Nov. 13 terror attacks on Paris, area residents with connections to France followed the unfolding tragedy in disbelief.

Members of the Crestview Area Sister City Program, who just two weeks before had bid “au revoir” to 34 visitors from Noirmoutier, share their reactions to the assaults.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'I cried': Crestview residents react to Parisian terror attacks