Head-On I-10 Crash Kills
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Rabies conirmed in Columbia County, see Page 3A THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 | YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER SINCE 1874 | 75¢ Lake City Reporter LAKECITYREPORTER.COM Head-on I-10 LOCAL PAWN SHOP crash kills one Teen shoots self to death in store Asks to see shotgun, then loads and fires. By TONY BRITT [email protected] A 19-year-old Michigan PATRICK SCOTT/Lake City Reporter man died Wednesday after After being struck, this tractor trailer came to rest in a he walked into a local pawn swampy roadside ditch on the eastbound side of I-10. The shop, asked to see a shot- driver suffered minor injuries. gun, then loaded it with a shell from his pocket and shot himself in the head. Woman crossed median, struck Brandon Lee Klatt, of tractor trailer in eastbound lanes. Deerfield, Mich., died less than an COURTESY LCPD By TONY BRITT suffered minor injuries. hour later [email protected] The crash occurred at at Shands Law enforcement and paramedics are seen in the parking lot of American Pawn 8:37 a.m. on I-10, west of Lake Wednesday morning after responding to a call about a suicide inside the store. A Lake City woman was U.S. 41. Shore killed Wednesday morn- According to FHP, Regional et and loaded the gun. look at firearms. ing order when parked by ing when her car crossed Fields was westbound in Medical As he was backing away “He just acted as a nor- Klatt. the Interstate 10 median a 2002 four-door Saturn Center, from the counter and the mal customer,” Strickland The vehicle, a passen- and crashed head-on into when the vehicle traveled Klatt according clerk, he shot himself in said. ger car, was impounded, an oncoming tractor trail- off the roadway, into the to reports from the Lake the head, according to Authorities said a sui- Strickland said. He said er. The eastbound lanes of median, then entered the City Police Department. Craig Strickland, Lake City cide note written to his the make and model were the roadway, littered with outside eastbound lane, Klatt walked into Police Department public family was found in Klatt’s not immediately known. wreckage and debris, were where it struck Rose’s 2004 American Pawn, 905 SW information officer. pockets. The note also told Strickland said it was closed for nearly ten hours Freightliner head-on. Main Blvd., Suite 100 at “The clerk drew his law enforcement where unclear why Klatt was in after the wreck. Fields was pronounced about 10:05 a.m. and asked firearm and pointed it at he parked his vehicle, Lake City but that inves- Christina Ann Fields, 51, dead at the scene. Rose to see a shotgun from the him and just told him, ‘Put in the Popeye’s parking tigators were talking with Lake City, was pronounced was taken to the Lake City display, LCPD said. The the gun down, put the gun lot at the intersection of his family in Michigan for dead at the scene, accord- Medical Center for minor store clerk handed the down’ and the guy pulled Duval Street and Main more information. ing to Florida Highway injuries and later released. unloaded gun to Klatt, who the trigger,” Strickland Boulevard. Police say he After the shooting, Klatt Patrol reports. “Investigators did not began looking it over as if said. walked about a mile to the was taken by ambulance to The driver of the trac- have any probable cause at to make a purchase. Strickland said Klatt pawn shop. Shands Lake Shore, where tor trailer, James Gregory Klatt then took a shot- came into the pawn shop Strickland did not know Rose, 52, of Conyers, Ga., FATAL continued on 6A gun shell from his pock- the day before but did not if the vehicle was in work- KLATT continued on 3A RUPPERT’S CLOSES ITS DOORS LEGISLATIVE SESSION 2014 Emergency concealed carry measure on hold By JIM TURNER taken the required weapons train- The News Service of Florida ing are carrying firearms during stress-filled periods. TALLAHASSEE — Concerns “When people aren’t thinking expressed by the Florida National clearly … they probably shouldn’t Guard stalled a Senate proposal that have a weapon shoved in the back would allow people without con- of their pants,” Gorman said, “espe- cealed-weapons licenses to carry cially when you’re talking about concealed firearms when forced thousands of people who need to outside in times of emergency. be evacuated from an area.” But Sen. Jeff Sen. Greg Evers, Brandes, a St. ‘I think this vio- R-Baker, said the Petersburg intent of the mea- Republican and lates the threshold sure is to protect sponsor of the of the situation of people who may not bill (SB 296), said an emergency as know the law when Wednesday he forced to flee their intends to revive opposed to conlict homes. the proposal after of interest about But Sen. Charlie he has time to dis- whether you have Dean, an Inverness cuss it with the Republican who National Guard. a right to carry.’ served as Citrus “Certainly there County sheriff, said JASON MATTHEW WALKER/Lake City Reporter are some legiti- —Sen. Charlie Dean he would oppose Tom Foster, co-owner of Ruppert’s Bakery & Cafe, is seen inside his restaurant on Monday, before shutting mate concerns that (R-Inverness) the measure. the doors for good due to personal health concerns. are still out there,” “I think this vio- Brandes said. lates the threshold Brandes’ proposal would cre- of the situation of an emergency Iconic cafe shut down on Monday ate an exemption to a state con- as opposed to conflict of interest cealed-carry law by allowing indi- about whether you have a right By STEVEN RICHMOND sale “for years,” but no interested party scraped viduals who have not qualified for to carry,” Dean said. “I think the [email protected] together enough money. the licenses to carry weapons off law enforcement has a duty and Kurt Ruppert and his wife started the bakery their property when ordered to responsibility, and I don’t see that Downtown Lake City lost another one of its in 1991 after he relocated to Lake City from Key move due to a governor-declared as an abuse.” iconic locations — as of Monday, Ruppert’s West, making minor renovations to what used to state of emergency, such as a hur- Dean was part of a 5-2 vote in Bakery and Cafe is no more. be a Rexall drug store. ricane or wildfire. favor of the bill when it appeared Tom and Marie Foster, co-owners of Ruppert’s The original location itself was built in 1896 and Capt. Terrence Gorman, general March 3 before the Criminal Justice since March 8, 2004, sold their last baked goods still contained some of the original furnishings counsel for the Florida Department Committee. The measure was from the corner of N. Marion Avenue and NE from that era (although the gas lamps that hung of Military Affairs, said a balance on the agenda Wednesday of the Madison Street Monday. from the ceiling were eventually phased out). is needed between personal safety Military and Veterans Affairs, Space, “It’s been a rough year for my wife and I, Living the retirement life in South Florida and public safety, adding that a and Domestic Security Committee healthwise,” said Tom Foster, 81. potentially “tricky” situation can be He said he and his wife had the location up for RUPPERT’S continued on 6A created when people who have not CONCEALED continued on 3A Vol. 140, No. 33 Opinion . 4A CALL US: TODAY’S WEATHER MUSIC PARK SPORTS (386) 752-1293 Local . 6A SpringFest at the CHS boys play SUBSCRIBE TO Obituaries . 5A THE REPORTER: 79 50 Advice & Comics . 3B SOSMP is this best match of Voice: 755-5445 2A season, 1B. Fax: 752-9400 Morning fog, Puzzles . 4B weekend, 6A. 2A LAKE CITY REPORTER DAILY BRIEFING THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 2014 Page Editor: Emily Lawson, 754-0424 QUICK HITS Scripture of the Day “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.” — Galatians 5:22-23 Thought for Today Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work. — Stephen King, American author of contemporary horror and suspense (born 1947) Winning Lottery Numbers Cash 3: (Wednesday) 6-8-5 Play 4: (Wednesday) 7-7-2-7 Fantasy 5: (Tuesday) 7-12-20-25-29 See an error? The Lake City Reporter corrects errors of fact in news items. If you have a concern, question, or sug- gestion, please call the editor. Corrections and clarifi- cations will run in this space. Thanks for reading. 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