911 call: “My mom just tried to kill herself,” Susan Teel’s daughter says

Troopers continue investigation into fatal hit-and-run

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Florida Highway Patrol troopers continue to search for the vehicle that fatally struck a bicyclist in a hit-and-run collision over the weekend. Another bicyclist found the body of the 58-year-old man in a ditch along Eighth Street after he was hit from behind by the vehicle. The man was taken by ambulance to HCA Florida Vero Beach Emergency Room where doctors pronounced him dead, according to Indian River County sheriff's officials. The crash site is located just down the road from the Chase Meadows neighborhood. The man was traveling on an electric bike with a small bicycle trailer, said Lt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. Details on the other type ...

‘This is our home’ – Protest demands fair treatment for undocumented immigrants

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — Two days after a joint operation netted eight traffic arrests and the detainment of dozens of others, residents gathered to protest what they say is unfair treatment from law enforcement officers along with racial profiling of undocumented immigrants. The demonstration - deemed "Fight For Our Families" - aims to counter the narrative of classifying anyone without documentation as "criminals." "This is our home. I live here. I have a mortgage here," said event co-organizer Azucena Maldonado, 46, a longtime Vero Beach resident whose roots originate in Mexico. "There is no reason for people to be afraid of us or the language we speak." Capt. Joe Abollo, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office, said ...

Man on railroad tracks struck by Brightline at 8th Street crossing

INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — A 30-year-old man was critically injured after he walked along the railroad tracks and was struck by a Brightline train at the Eighth Street railroad crossing, deputies said. "The (crossing) arms were down," said Lt. Kevin Jaworski, a spokesperson for the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. The incident happened about 6 p.m. Sunday at the crossing at Eighth Street between U.S. 1 and Old Dixie Highway, Jaworski said. The crash happened south of the Vero Beach city limits. Jaworski said the man was flown to HCA Florida Lawnwood Hospital in Fort Pierce. Deputies closed Eighth Street for about 30 minutes. "Deputies and railroad officials are on scene working to determine the cause of the crash," Jaworski ...