Another Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring has gone into the books and it appears to have been an all-around win. Cadillac swept the podium, and a bumper crop of fans turned out for the 70th running of the endurance classic.
Despite at least one spectacular crash during the World Endurance Championship opener, there were no serious incidents to report on or off the track. In fact, the Sebring International Raceway seems to have been one of the safer places to have been in Highlands County over the course of Race Week.
While the big event is over, work continues at the track. It is rented out almost every weekend through the balance of the year, with no fewer than eight ticketed events before New Year’s Day.
Firefighters from Desoto City and West Sebring were joined by Florida Forest Service crews over the weekend in putting out a brush fire off Lakewood Road west of Sebring.
No injuries were reported, an enclosed trailer was destroyed – damages there were set at $8,000. No cause for the fire was listed.
Authorities remind residents we are in the dry season and to be careful with outside burning and all combustibles.
A wrong-way accident north of Sebring late Friday night resulted in death for one man and jail for another. According to Florida Highway Patrol reports, a man identified as Edgar Ruis Colchado of Barstow, Texas, was northbound in the southbound lane of the Panther Parkway, when he slammed into a sport utility vehicle, driven by a 28-year-old Sebring man.
Troopers have declined to reveal his name. The 28-year-old Colchado has been charged with DUI manslaughter and reckless driving, among other counts. Apparently, Colchado had been involved in a previous accident about a half mile away.
Former Highlands County commissioner Don Elwell has picked up a gubernatorial appointment. Governor Ron Desantis has tapped Elwell to serve on the statewide committee for the transportation disadvantaged.
The appointment comes in addition to some of Elwell’s other duties after leaving the commission. He also is the Chairman of the Spring Lake Improvement District Board, and serves as the anchor for the popular Don & Dan radio program on NewsTalk 730. Most recently, he was the emcee at the International Bikini Search Bikini Contest during this year’s 12 Hours of Sebring