car accidents

Published on: March 6, 2025

E-Bike Battery May Have Caused Key West Fire, officials say. How Leesfield & Partners Has Warned About This Danger for a Decade.

A transportation device that Leesfield & Partners’ Founder and Managing Partner, Ira Leesfield, has been warning communities about may have been responsible for a Key West fire, according to the city’s Fire Marshal.

Key West Fire Marshal Jason Barroso reminded the community in the Keys Weekly, a weekly newspaper, to be wary of lithium-ion batteries. His reminder comes after an initial assessment showed a local fire may have been caused by an e-bike battery.

The fire happened on Patricia Street on Feb. 25 and had fully engulfed a garage, causing significant damage. Thankfully, no injuries were reported but Barroso wanted to remind the community to follow manufacturer’s safety instructions for charging and storing of e-bikes.

Published on: January 6, 2025

Florida father accused of drunk driving in deadly crash that killed 5-year-old faces charges, police say

By Leesfield & Partners

A father who was allegedly driving drunk the day he crashed his car into a tree, killing his daughter, 5, and injuring his son, 3, faces DUI manslaughter charges, police said in a Dec. 31 news release.

The crash happened in Polk County, Florida, on Nov. 7 when a father, who is not being named to protect the identity of his son, was allegedly three times over the legal limit when he was behind the wheel. The man picked up his children from their grandfather’s home, missed a turn and ran a stop sign, according to police. He later crashed into a tree and the car went up in flames. The man’s daughter died in the incident and his 3-year-old son suffered burns to his face.

The man tried getting his son out of the car but fell to the ground. A passerby helped the child. The father was also injured in the crash, according to reporting from the Miami Herald.

Published on: November 1, 2024

Key West Man Gets Three Felony Charges For Pointing This Device at Police. What to Know.

By Leesfield & Partners

A Key West man was charged this week with three felonies and other misdemeanors after police say he pointed gloves with lasers into their car, almost causing an accident.

John Maximilian Zahner, 40, was charged with three felony charges of misusing a laser device, resisting arrest without violence and misdemeanor charges of providing a false identity to law enforcement, according to local media.

The strange events unfolded Monday around 2:15 a.m. when Zahner allegedly began shining the lasers from his gloves into the patrol vehicles of at least three officers who were driving on Duval Street. The lasers were so bright that one officer reported experiencing temporary blurry vision and nearly hitting the patrol car in front of him. The officers saw Zahner standing in front of Bourbon Street Pub and turned their vehicles around but say he ran back into the bar, according to reporting from news outlets.