Shelbie Hamilton clothed her newborn girl in yellow colors — because it reminds her of her favorite animal, ducks.

“Yellow reminds me of duckies,” said Hamilton, whose infant daughter, Makayla Davis, is the first human duckling of the New Year on the Treasure Coast.

At 6:05 a.m. Friday Makayla emerged, with long fingers, curly blond hair and blue eyes, at Indian River Medical Center, Vero Beach.

VERO BEACH — Kyle Davis and Shelbie Hamilton hold Makayla Davis, the first baby of 2010 in the Treasure Coast, on Friday morning. (Photo by Juan Dale Brown)

For most of the day, the 6 pound 3 ounce child slept as her mother and father, Kyle Davis, held her.

The Treasure Coast’s second baby of 2010 was a boy born 11:49 a.m. to Guadulupe Avellanade, 37, at Martin Memorial Medical Center, Stuart. The father, Timoteo Avellanade, and mother, both of Indiantown, haven’t decided on a name. (more…)

FORT PIERCE — A 26-year-old Coral Springs man died and a baby was in critical condition following a Tuesday night crash on Interstate 95 that also injured three others, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Northbound I-95 traffic was diverted onto Okeechobee Road for about 4 1/2 hours following the 10:21 p.m. crash, which happened in the area of Okeechobee Road.

Chad Joseph Demarco, who died in the incident, was driving a 2009 Nissan Murano north with three passengers, including Braniah Brown, almost 8 months, of Deerfield Beach. Demarco, “(f)or reasons yet to be determined,” stopped in the center lane and activated the hazard lights, an FHP release states.
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FORT PIERCE — A man accused of holding a knife to the throat of a woman as she held a 4-month-old child faces a felony charge, according to an arrest affidavit released Monday.

Gary Anthony Nembhard, 45, of the 700 block of Citrus Avenue, was arrested on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge following the Saturday incident at his listed address. (more…)

MARTIN COUNTY — Two Port St. Lucie parents were charged with child neglect after shoppers noticed their 7-month-old girl had been left alone in an unlocked car for half an hour Monday, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said.

Monica Alastra, 33, and Walter Lugo, 32, were taken into custody after they had been shopping at a fabric store in the 3500 block of Southwest Federal Way, Jensen Beach. They each posted $5,000 bail Monday.

Someone called 911 shortly after 7 p.m. when they noticed the infant was in the Toyota minivan in the store parking lot, the Sheriff’s Office said. Deputy Lynn Martella said she found the parents inside the store with a 3-year-old child.

“They seemed relatively calm. They saw that I was holding their child and they were looking at me and they wanted to know, could they have their baby and I said no,” the deputy said. “I said, ‘You understand you’re both going to be placed under arrest,’ and that is when they became upset.”

The infant in the minivan was sweaty and agitated, but did not require medical attention, the deputy said. The Department of Children and Families gave both children to another family member, the Sheriff’s Office said.

Alastra and Lugo told the deputy they had used poor judgment, according to a Sheriff’s Office news release.

WPTV Channel 5 contributed to this report.

Lamaur Stancil, TCPalm.com

VERO BEACH — New Orleans resident Lionel Sims broke a hole in his roof to be rescued from Hurricane Katrina’s devastating flood waters in August 2005, but he had to leave behind a best friend, his dog Peanut.

Rescuers said they couldn’t take the dog.

Sims didn’t know if Peanut was dead or alive for about two months, until an American Red Cross volunteer tracked it to the Humane Society of Indian River County and Vero Beach.

And the two were reunited.
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VERO BEACH — An autopsy is scheduled Friday for a 5-month old male infant found dead inside a hot SUV Thursday evening, said Vero Beach Police spokesman John Morrison.

Gannon Werking died Thursday after his mother Stephanie Werking of Sebastian left him inside a parked vehicle, according to a police department news release.

About 5 p.m. Thursday, a passerby called 911 when he saw a woman “screaming hysterically” in the parking lot of First United Bank at 17th Street and Indian River Boulevard, Morrison said.

“The child was obviously deceased at the scene,” he said, adding the cardiopulmonary resuscitation was not performed on the infant. (more…)