December 4, 2024
BROOKSVILLE, FL – A contentious battle over who will run Hernando County Animal Services will come to an end tomorrow after County Commissioners cast a final vote on the measure. Tempers flared last October when outgoing Commissioner Beth Narverud refused to allow the newly elected commission to make the final decision. Narverud and Sheriff Al Nienhuis conspired to remove control of Animal Services over the last two years, despite pushback from residents who believe the...
SPRING HILL, FL – A heated altercation between two brothers ended tragically Friday in what officials are calling a murder-suicide. According to reports, deputies responded to the 2300 Block of Covington Ave around 11:25 p.m. Friday, after receiving a call from 39-year-old Anthony Coyle who claimed he had just shot his brother. Coyle told the 911 operator where the gun would be located and said he would be waiting outside for deputies. Upon arrival, deputies made contact...
SPRING HILL, FL – A near head-on collision claimed the life of a Spring Hill man on Friday, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. According to officials, the 19-year-old driver of a Nissan Altima was traveling westbound on Northcliffe Blvd, when for unknown reasons, he veered across the median and struck a Chevy Malibu driven by a 61-year-old woman. Both drivers suffered serious injuries, including a 35-year-old male passenger in the Malibu who later died from his...
PORT RICHEY, FL – Matthew Coppler, the City Manager for Port Richey, Florida, announced last Tuesday that a new interim Chief of Police will lead the department after the sudden resignation of Cyrus Robinson. According to an email sent to all department personnel on November 19th, Coppler stated that Captain Michael Koch will lead the department until a permanent chief is hired to fill the position. There have been no public announcements from City Officials, but sources...
NEW PORT RICHEY, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting the death of a pedestrian who was struck and killed in SR-54 Monday. According to reports, the driver of a propane tanker was traveling westbound on Sr-54 and attempted to turn northbound onto Grand Blvd. At the same time, a 43-year-old woman was using the crosswalk to cross SR-54 and was struck by the truck. The woman suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene....
BROOKSVILLE, FL – Two people suffered serious injuries this afternoon in a rollover crash at a notoriously dangerous intersection. According to Hernando County Fire Rescue officials, just after 12:30 p.m., a rollover crash involving a pickup truck at Ayers Road and Culbreath Road left two occupants trapped in the wreckage. Responding units were forced to cut away the roof to free the two occupants, who both suffered serious injuries, according to reports. Ayers and...
UPDATE 11/20/2024: According to officials, the victim expired this afternoon from injuries suffered overnight following a hit-and-run crash. The assailant remains at large at this time. Anyone with information regarding this incident is asked to call *FHP (*347) or Crime Stoppers at **TIPS. LAND O'LAKES, FL – A Tampa man was seriously injured after a vehicle crashed into a residence on US-41 early Tuesday. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday,...
SPRING HILL, FL – A death investigation is underway at a local mental health facility after a 27-year-old man died Saturday. The decedent's aunt, Valorie Brown, contacted R News Sunday after officials at Springbrook Hospital notified her that her nephew, Jerod Travis Tabor, had passed away while in their care. Brown told R News during a tearful interview that her nephew was diagnosed with schizophrenia after smoking marijuana and doing 'Spice' in college several years ago,...
SPRING HILL, FL – A single-vehicle motorcycle crash claimed the life of a Spring Hill man Saturday. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, the 41-year-old driver of a Harley Davidson motorcycle was traveling eastbound on Spring Hill Drive when he lost control and struck a median near Spring Park Way. Subsequently, the driver was thrown from the motorcycle and suffered serious injuries. Transported to a nearby hospital, the driver later died from his...
HUDSON, FL – An elderly woman lost her life this morning in a two-vehicle collision on Little Road. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 77-year-old Hudson woman driving a Hyundai Elantra attempted to turn left from Poe Drive onto Little Road. As a result, a Honda CRV driven by a 23-year-old Weeki Wachee woman collided with the driver's side of the Elantra, fatally injuring the elderly woman. The other driver suffered only minor injuries in the crash....
BROOKSVILLE, FL – A Hernando County Sheriff's Office Detective is on paid administrative leave in response to allegations he stole FOP (Fraternal Order of Police) funds while acting as treasurer for the lodge. According to an email sent to all members of FOP Lodge 164, a recent financial review flagged numerous credit and debit transactions on cards issued to Treasurer Bruce Nichols. FOP officials stated that the charges appeared to be for personal use and not for the...
SPRING HILL, FL – An elderly man died Monday after crashing a vehicle into a home on Arrowhead Ave. According to officials, the 69-year-old driver was traveling northbound when he experienced a medical episode and collided with a residence on Greenleaf Lane. The driver was transported to a nearby hospital where he later died. A 68-year-old female passenger was uninjured in the crash. There were no injuries inside the residence but damage to the...
CRYSTAL RIVER, FL – A two-vehicle crash involving a tractor-trailer claimed the life of a Crystal River man on Monday. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, an 88-year-old man was traveling southbound on US-19, when he turned into the path of a tractor-trailer, traveling northbound. The impact caused fatal injuries to the elderly driver, and he died at the scene. The driver of the tractor-trailer suffered minor injuries....
HUDSON, FL – The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting the death of a motorcyclist who died in an early morning crash on SR-52. According to officials, a 51-year-old Holiday man was traveling eastbound on SR-52 in a Mitsubishi Outlander and attempted to turn left onto Parkwood Street. At the same time, a 21-year-old New Port Richey man was traveling westbound on SR-52 and collided with the passenger side of the Outlander. As a result of the collision, the motorcyclist died at...
BROOKSVILLE, FL – A death investigation is underway at the Hernando County Detention Center after sources say an inmate allegedly took his own life. The victim's mother-in-law, Susan Morelli, contacted R News today after she received notification from the Hernando County Sheriff's Office of the incident. Authorities told Morelli that sometime during the overnight hours of October 30th, the victim, 47-year-old Corey Tine, hung himself in the Shower. Morelli says they would...
CRYSTAL RIVER, FL – An early morning single-vehicle crash on US-19 claimed the life of a Clearwater man, say officials. According to the Florida Highway Patrol, a 48-year-old man was traveling southbound in a Ford F-150 when, for unknown reasons, he lost control of the vehicle, crossed the median, struck a utility pole, and collided with a Marco's Pizza restaurant. Officials say the driver died at the scene of the...
BROOKSVILLE, FL - As anticipated, Tuesday's Hernando Board of County Commission (BOCC) meeting turned into a chaotic affair, with now-former Commissioner Beth Narverud making her final appearance as a lame-duck commissioner to support Sheriff Al Nienhuis' agenda to take over Animal Services. Animal Services Director James Terry has been under fire for over a year for issues that were mostly out of his control due to network interruptions, delays by the University of Florida...
NEW PORT RICHEY, FL - The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting the death of a woman who fell out of a vehicle and was run over. According to reports, a Ford F-150 was traveling westbound on Ridge Road when the driver attempted to turn left onto Lemon Road. While negotiating the turn, a 38-year-old Port Richey woman fell out of the passenger side and was struck by another vehicle traveling eastbound on Ridge Road. The victim suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene....
BROOKSVILLE, FL - One-term Commissioner Beth Narverud isn't happy about her loss to newcomer Ryan Amsler during the Primary Election, but she's not going away quietly. Narverud, the former Domino's Pizza owner turned real estate agent, colluded with Hernando County Sheriff (HCSO) Al Nienhuis to hand over Animal Services to HCSO. Bad blood between Nienhuis and the current Animal Service Director and former HCSO Major, James Terry, is the alleged reason for the attempted coup....
BROOKSVILLE - The Florida Highway Patrol is reporting the death of a 4-year-old girl after a single-vehicle rollover crash on the Suncoast Expressway Saturday. According to Officials, a 47-year-old Lee County woman was traveling southbound on SR-589 when she lost control of her Kia Optima and struck a concrete culvert. The vehicle then overturned and came to rest on the shoulder. The driver and a 7-year-old girl suffered serious injuries and were transported to a local...
SPRING HILL - The Hernando County Sheriff's Office is reporting the arrest of a 16-year-old Spring Hill teen who officials say was allegedly in possession of child pornography. According to reports, detectives received a tip that 16-year-old Andor Gabriel Storz was in possession of child porn on August 20th, 2024, and subsequently obtained a search warrant for his residence on Little Farms Drive on October 15th, 2024. During an interview with Storz, he admitted to possessing...