By Sharman P. Moore

VERO BEACH — From near death to healthy as a horse describes Abby, the miraculous filly born five months ago with a rare neonatal condition that threatened her life.

Vero Beach veterinarian Dr. Valerie Biehl smiles as Abby, a six-week-old horse, stands up after having leg braces made of PVC attached at the East Coast Animal Medical Center on Friday, March 12, 2010. Abby’s mother, Li’l Grey, stands at right.

Lucky for Abby, Vero Beach veterinarian Valerie Biehl came to the owner’s barn on Oct. 7 when the horse was born prematurely and recognized the symptoms for Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy.

“I had seen this condition when I studied to be a veterinarian at the University of Florida because we were often exposed to the treatment of horses,” Biehl said. “So I realized what major problems Abby would be facing. The lack of oxygen to her brain just prior to being born meant she would require round the clock medical attention to survive. It would be parallel to neonatal intensive care.”

Abby’s tongue protruded from her mouth and she couldn’t nurse. Her mother, Li’l Grey, was milked every few hours and Abby received her nourishment through a tube that was inserted into her nose.

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VERO BEACH - Parents of a youth who drowned in rough surf near South Beach in 2007 have lost a civil lawsuit contending the city and county were negligent in the death, court records show.

Gifford resident Eric Brown, 14, disappeared in the ocean after being caught in a rip current while aiding a friend who was floundering in the water near South Beach.

Brown’s parents, Eric Brown and Dorothy Scott, filed a lawsuit in Indian River Circuit Court after the two governments didn’t offer a financial settlement.

On Thursday, Circuit Judge Paul Kanarek dismissed the lawsuit, said the county’s special attorney, Paul Berg.

“It was a tragic accident,” Burg said. However, the Legislature decided that the state, counties and cities can’t be responsible for changing conditions in the surf, he said Friday. (more…)

VERO BEACH - The flight instructor and student injured in last Friday’s airplane crash were practicing how to fly on one engine in case of an engine failure, according to a preliminary report from National Transportation and Safety Board released Thursday.

About 1:20 p.m. March 5, instructor James Ross, 28 and student pilot Avinash Kumar, 22, left Paris Air Inc. at Vero Beach Municipal Airport to practice touch-and-go maneuvers, where the plane lands and then pulls up, according to FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen.

The plane, a 1979 twin engine Piper Seneca PA - 34-200 T, had been filled with 51 gallons of fuel before the flight, the report states.

An hour later, the two were practicing how to fly if the left engine fails while approaching the airport, when it crashed south of 12th Street near 34th Avenue in the Sun Villas subdivision, the report states. The plane struck two large trees within less than 50 yards of several homes.

Ross was released Monday from Lawnwood Regional Medical Center & Heart Institute after receiving treatment for fractures to his wrist and elbow. Kumar, from India, who started training in February, suffered a broken leg and has been released from Holmes Regional Medical Center said, Lynn Lilliquist, Paris Air spokeswoman. (more…)

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A small white and turquoise plane crashed Friday afternoon near 12th Street and 34th Avenue in the Sun Villas subdivision.

About 2:40 p.m. Friday, authorities received a call about a plane crash in a residential area. Two people were “seriously injured,” said Kathleen Bergen, Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman. Two trauma helicopters landed about 3:15 in a field near 20th Avenue and 12th Street to transport them.

The Piper Seneca plant crashed in a small, wooded area near a canal and several houses, just south of 12th Street. Several emergency vehicles from the Sheriff’s Office, Fire Rescue and FAA were in the area.

Officials closed 12th Street from 34rd Avenue to 27th Avenue while they investigate.

The plane, a 1979 Piper PA-34-200 T, is registered to Lois Aviation, LLC of Brooklyn, N.Y., according to FAA records. However, it was unclear whether he was on board.

It took Denise Brown more than a decade to deal with her anger from her sister’s highly publicized death.

But only last year was she able to start sharing her family’s experience of losing Nicole Brown Simpson in June of 1994. (more…)

NORTH PALM BEACH — Two manatees rescued from a Vero Beach canal five weeks ago will return to natural waters Tuesday, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officials said.

The female sea cow and its calf were had cold stress and were pulled from the canal at the corner of Golfview and Calcutta drives on Jan. 22. The pair was taken to Sea World and nursed back to health, FWC officials said.

Tuesday’s release will be at 10 a.m. at Anchorage Park in North Palm Beach, FWC said. A third manatee, which had been entangled in Brevard County and rescued, will be released at the park as well Tuesday, FWC said.

By Lamaur Stancil

VERO BEACH — A 32-year-old man faces four felony sexual battery charges after a 14-year-old girl told investigators he had sex with her dozens of times, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday.

Arrested Sunday, Dennis Ray Mitchell, of the 2800 block of First Street Southwest, called 911 and said he needed to turn himself in. Asked why, he said, “child molesting, I guess,” an affidavit states.
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By Alexi Howk

FORT PIERCE — Holly, the dog dragged for nearly 2 miles behind a pickup truck in December, has a new home and a new playful brother.

A photo taken by the Humane Society of St. Lucie County shows Holly as she began to heal from her injuries from being dragged by a truck last December.

Nancy Fiorenza and Daniel Dunseath of Vero Beach adopted Holly, an 18-month-old pit bull/lab mix, late Wednesday from the Humane Society of St. Lucie County.

The couple had been looking for a playmate for their pit bull, Stealer, who they also adopted from the Humane Society on Valentine’s Day of last year.

“We had read about Holly’s situation in the newspaper and saw her on TV, but we figured she had already been adopted,” Fiorenza said. “We stopped in the shelter on Tuesday just to see who was there, and she happened to be there.”

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VERO BEACH — A Stuart man was killed early Saturday morning in a two-vehicle accident at the intersection of Eighth Avenue and 21st Street, according to Vero Beach police.

A preliminary investigation into the 12:44 a.m. accident indicates Joshua Mulhern, 26, of Port St., Lucie, was northbound on Eighth Avenue in a 2002 Kia and failed to yield the right of way to a 2002 Chevrolet truck driven by Jason Hatley of Sebastian that was westbound on 21st Street, according to a police news release.

The truck hit the side of Mulhern’s vehicle, instantly killing the passenger, Geoffrey Robbins, 28, of Stuart, police said.
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VERO BEACH — A swift-moving fire at the Southgate Village mobile home community just east of U.S 1 in Vero Beach claimed the life of a wheelchair-bound resident Sunday morning.

Richard Froah, 63, was killed when his mobile home on lot 59 in the park, at 720 12th St., caught fire shortly before 10 a.m. Sunday morning, according to next-door neighbor Darlene Madigan, who lives at lot 60.

“I was sound asleep with my windows open when my bedroom filled up with black smoke,” said Madigan. “If it wasn’t for my neighbors knocking on the door, I probably wouldn’t be here.”

Marc LeGault and his wife, who live at lot 84, alerted Madigan to the fire when they saw smoke pouring from Froah’s mobile home.

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