Naples, FL Car And Truck Collision, Apr 1973

TWO GIRLS PERISH IN FIERY CRASH.

Naples, Fla. -- Two young girls, passengers in a Corvette which state troopers said "exploded like a bomb" became the seventh and eighth traffic fatalities in Collier County this year when the car collided with a small Japanese made pickup tuck on Davis Boulevard Extension Sunday.
Dead at the scene shortly before 7 p.m. Sunday were THERESA SIMPSON, 14, of P. O. Box 694, Pine Ridge Road and VICKY DEMERE, 13, of 3417 Okeechobee St.
The driver of the Corvette, DENNIS MYERS, 21, of 3113 Lunar Drive, was listed in serious condition with head injuries today at the Naples Community Hospital. Florida Highway Patrol officers who investigated the double fatality said MYERS faces pending charges.
FRANCOIS RACINE, 47, of Ville Bois, Quebec, was also listed in serious condition in the intensive care unit where he is suffering from two broken legs and multiple fractures.
ANITA RACINE, 36, his wife, was treated at the hospital for multiple cuts and bruises and released.
Troopers Gary Shiver and Ralph Strader, who investigated the accident said the Corvette was traveling east in a "reckless manner" in the wesbound lane of Davis Boulevard near the County Barn when it collided almost head-on with the RACINE pickup. "The impact caused the small truck to roll over and then come back on its wheels,"
Trooper Shiver said.
He said the pickup truck had pulled onto the shoulder of the road in an attempt to avoid the impact. "The Corvette exploded like a bomb and came to rest two-tenth of a mile away. The girls were thrown from the car and one of the girls, THERESA SIMPSON, landed about 50-feet away in the woods and the DEMERE girl was beside the car. When we arrived MYERS was walking around near the car," Shiver said.

Naples Daily News Florida 1973-04-09
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!