Myakka City woman dies after ATV overturns, may be attributed to Hurricane Ian
A 22-year-old Myakka City woman died early Friday after an ATV she was a passenger on overturned in a washed-out area and rolled over her.
According to a press release from the Florida Highway Patrol, a group of six people ranging from ages 22-28 were riding in a six-passenger ATV near a private property located near 5255 Verna Bethany Road in Myakka City when the vehicle encountered a washed-out area, causing it to overturn at approximately 1:45 a.m.
As the vehicle overturned, the passengers were thrown off. The ATV then rolled over the 22-year-old woman before finally resting on the shell-packed roadway. She was pronounced dead on the scene by Manatee County Emergency Medical Services, according to FHP.
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The other passengers were a 27-year-old Ellenton man, a 25-year-old Sarasota woman, a 24-year-old Myakka City man and a 25-year-old Sarasota man. The driver was a 28-year-old Myakka City man. No other injuries were reported.
Randy Warren, public information officer for the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, referenced the incident when asked about hurricane-related deaths in the area, although he did not directly say the death was hurricane-related. A report by the Florida Medical Examiners Commission said that Manatee County had one death attributable to Hurricane Ian, and other than the Myakka City crash, the county has not investigated any other hurricane-related deaths, Warren said.
The Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office confirmed two hurricane-related deaths on Friday. Spokeswoman Kaitlyn Perez said two people in unincorporated Sarasota County died after hurricane-related power outages disabled their oxygen machines. The victims were a 94-year-old man in the Palmer Ranch area and an 80-year-old woman in north Sarasota, Perez told the Herald-Tribune on Friday.
The Medical Examiners Commission said there were three total hurricane-related deaths in Sarasota County, but no details were immediately provided by the county, the Sheriff’s Office or the District 12 Medical Examiner’s Office, which oversees Manatee, Sarasota and DeSoto counties.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Hurricane Ian death? Manatee County woman dies after ATV overturns
