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By Melody Jameson
mj@observernews.net
KINGS POINT - Family, friends and neighbors this week will commemorate the liveliness of a local resident whose life ended in a high-speed, one-car accident in the middle of the night.
Joan H. Holda, 83, of Kings Point, was pronounced dead at Tampa General Hospital early on the morning April 28 after being airlifted from the scene on North Pebble Beach Boulevard following the 1 A.M. accident, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
On Saturday, those closest to her and those affected by her infectious good humor will gather in the north clubhouse banquet room to celebrate a life which joyfully embraced those met along the way, both human and animal. The observance is slated for 11 A.M.
In an initial reconstruction of events leading to the accident, Sheriff’s deputies on the scene said Holda’s 2007 Toyota Camry was northbound on Pebble Beach Blvd. when it left the east lane, crossing into the southbound traffic lane and then leaving the roadway. The vehicle, weighing about 3300 pounds, struck utility boxes in residential yards on the west side of the street before becoming airborne.
The Toyota vaulted over the bridged canal connecting the two large sections of North Lake west of the bridge structure, hit concrete seawall, then ricocheted onto residential lawn, striking several palm trees before coming to rest upside down, said J.D. Callaway, sheriff’s office spokesman.
Holda, the driver and only person in the vehicle, was ejected from her car, Callaway added.
Callaway hesitated to establish the vehicle’s speed when it left the roadway and began its trajectory over the canal before the full investigation is completed, but officers familiar with the accident scene agreed the rate of speed was high, far in excess of the 30-mph limit on North Pebble Beach Blvd.
However, officers also were not prepared to characterize the excessive speed in the middle of a weekday night as intentional. There well may have been “medical issues” involved, Callaway noted. Holda apparently drove out of Kings Point, perhaps trying to get help at the home of a friend on the north side of the community or perhaps aiming for the Southbay Hospital emergency room, but taking a wrong turn due to illness or confusion, officers surmised.
She was never confused about whom she could help, though. Holda was an ardent supporter of Elmira’s Sanctuary almost from its inception years ago, said Robin Greenwood, who operates the wildlife reserve on the Hillsborough-Manatee County line that shelters a number of species, large and small. “She wanted a baby tiger,” Greenwood recalled this week, “and she adored FloFlo, our little fennec fox.”
The Kings Pointer, a widow, also was known as a live wire among friends and associates, Greenwood added. “She loved to dance, anytime” and frequently would stop by the Copper Penny where she was a popular guest, the wildlife manager said. “We’re crushed; we will miss her very much,” Greenwood added.
The accident investigation is continuing as specialists closely examine the scene to calculate such factors as vehicle speed and piece together a timeline as factual as possible, Callaway indicated. Final determination of the cause of death is pending, awaiting county medical examiner reports expected within the next couple of weeks.
©2009 Melody Jameson
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