THREE SUNDAY CRASHES IN FLORIDA PUT SPOTLIGHT ON DRIVERS IGNORING STATE'S 'MOVE-OVER' LAW

Three Broward County crashes involving collisions with disabled vehicles left one man dead, two in the hospital and two others, including a state trooper, with minor injuries, officials said Sunday.In all three, the failure to observe the state's so-called Move Over Law worsened the initial impact.

"It happens all the time," said Lt. James Robinson, a Florida Highway Patrol spokesman. "There's the Move Over Law, but some people still don't adhere to the law." The first crash occurred about 3 a.m. Sunday, the Highway Patrol said. Marvin Giovanni Salazar-Palma, 28, was driving north on Florida's Turnpike just north of Commercial Boulevard when he crashed his 2005 Dodge Stratus and ended up in the center lane.

Nurse Bonnie L. Smeryage approached Salazar-Palma, whom she said was trying to get out of the Dodge. As Smeryage slowed down to pull over and help Salazar-Palma, her 2001 Chrysler PT Cruiser was struck from behind by a Toyota Scion. Its driver, Yori A. Berlinski, 31, also struck Salazar-Palma, killing him. Berlinski received minor injuries; Smeryage was not hurt.

"Before I could help him, he was dead," Smeryage, 26, said. "It's horrible; it's sad." About an hour later in Pembroke Pines, Bushan E. Freeman, 35, stopped his Ford Taurus in the 9400 block of Taft Street in the outside westbound lane with the hazard lights flashing. Motorcycle rider William Lambert, 33, and passenger Maria Ferro, 49, didn't see the Taurus and crashed into it, said Sgt. Bryan Davis, a Pembroke Pines Police spokesman. Both were thrown off the Harley-Davidson and taken to Memorial Regional Hospital with serious injuries. Freeman was unhurt.

The third crash occurred in Davie about 9 a.m., when Trooper Shawanna Flowers responded to a crash on the turnpike near the exit ramp to Interstate 595. She parked her marked patrol car on the right shoulder, put on the emergency lights and got out to provide assistance.

Alvero E. Segrera, 19, was on the exit ramp in his 2004 Hyundai when he swerved to avoid the patrol car but hit it, and almost hit the trooper.

"She had to dive across the guardrail," Robinson said. "He just got nervous for whatever reason and lost control."

Flowers cut and bruised her legs from jumping over the guardrail, Robinson said. She was treated at the scene. Segrera was cited for failure to use due care. No one has been charged in the two other crashes, pending alcohol and drug test results.

Florida's 2002 Move Over Law was designed to protect law enforcement and other emergency workers on highways. It mandates that when drivers see those vehicles, they move over one lane or slow down to 20 mph below the posted speed limit.

Davis, of Pembroke Pines, said people usually aren't paying attention when they crash into emergency or disabled cars. "There's people that drive with tunnel vision," Davis said. "It's hot, it rains, people are driving with the windows up, the radio on, talking on a cell phone — and not paying attention to what they should be doing, which is driving."

The FHP issued 13,950 citations to drivers for not abiding by the Move Over Law between July 2002 and December 2005, the most recent years for which figures are immediately available, the agency said.