17 Responses to “Molino Man In Critical Condition Following Wreck”

1. Bennie Finlay on July 22nd, 2011 12:02 pm

   This is Bennie Finlay. I have no intention of suing anyone and have requested my insurance company to see if they are liable of the property damage of the mail box. That will be between my insurance company and the home owner. I will not go into details about the accident or the cause, except to say that it was not drug or alcohol related and no citation was issued against me. My personal opinion is that mail boxes should have more give to them because this box did a lot of damage to my vehicle and cause injury to my rotary cup that will probably require surgery and a lot of loss time at work. We have a plastic mail box that has been in for years with no damage from the many beer bottles that have been thrown at it. Thanks for all he prayers

2. Concerned Parent on July 21st, 2011 11:26 am

   Molino-Anon,

   It doesn’t matter if it’s legal or illegal on state roads since this wasn’t a state road, and I have searched the Florida statutes and found nothing that says they are illegal in Florida. I did find that Volusia County does not allow them but the City of Jacksonville does, but you have to have a permit to build it.

3. Molino-Anon on July 20th, 2011 4:34 pm

   Brick mailboxes ARE illegal on STATE ROADS, its been on the books since 1990. Any mailbox structure that has no give is illegal, this includes, cement poles, steel poles cemented into the ground etc. On state maintained roads the mailbox is supposed to be 4×4, landscape timber, etc. something that can break away.

   The State has never prosecuted or enforced this, but someone injured because of a collision with such a structure and seek legal counsel.

4. Brendal Finlay on July 20th, 2011 3:00 pm

   I would just like to thank North Escambia for their speedy reporting. Bennie is my father and we learned of this accident because NE posted it on Facebook. I recognized my Father’s van, called the hospital where I work, and found out my father was in the ED.

   The reason for him losing consciousness is still unknown. Test are still being run to determine what might be going on. His shoulder is injured. We are still waiting on an orthopedist to evaluate him for that.

   I want to thank all for their thoughts and prayers. My father is alive and he is not critically injured.

5. Concerned Parent on July 20th, 2011 2:33 pm

   It is so ridiculous to think that “because it’s there” you can be sued for it. So if my car is parked in my driveway and somebody runs off the road and hits it, I am at fault and can be sued? That’s exactly what you’re saying, people. That’s just plain old STUPID!!! The road is where your vehicle is supposed to be…NOT running off and hitting other things. Geez, shall we just outlaw all houses, mailboxes, buildings, trees, animals, etc that somebody might manage to hit? The way you guys talk, nothing is safe. We’ll just cut down all
   trees, kill all animals, destroy all buildings and live in the sun with no shade or shelter,….would that make you happy?

6. molino jim on July 20th, 2011 10:50 am

   While you may sue—you may not win. There is a reason most mail boxes are run into—speed/drinking/medical and so on, and a lawyer for the home owner and or insurance co. will be sure to bring that up. Just because it’s there does not make the mail box owner 100% at fault. As one of the other posters said, are we going to cut down all of the trees. I guess while we’re cutting down the trees we’ll need to remove fences also. As I recall a driver recently ran off the road here in the north end and hit a board fence and the passenger was impelled by a board and died. In reference to the motorcycle rider hitting one—I seem to recall several bike riders hitting deer and at least one rider died.

7. dnutjob on July 19th, 2011 7:10 pm

   Look under FDOT standards you can have your box but you are liable for it, I tried to post it earlier but oh well FDOT stadards governs ALL public roadways. It tells you what is acceptable for construction of mailboxes. If you or a loved one gets injured by one of these special mailboxes you can take the owner to court and win for any and all damages that result from said box. But go look it up for your self.

8. Concerned Parent on July 19th, 2011 4:26 pm

   Bjay,

   I’m not talking about replacing a mailbox every couple of years. I’m talking about every month, sometimes 3 and 4 times in a month!

   Umm, everything I looked up showed that some other states (but not Florida) have laws concerning brick mailboxes, but these only apply to STATE roads, not county or city roads. If a particular county wishes to have a law concerning brick mailboxes in their county, then they must go through the process to pass one. Volusia County has one, but Escambia does not.

   Technically, because mailboxes are considered to be federal property they are governed by federal laws only. It tends to get a little complicated when dealing with matters concerning mailboxes. For example, it is illegal to park your vehicle so that it blocks the mail carriers access to the box and is subject to immediate towing and refusal by the carrier to deliver your mail until it is unblocked. It is also illegal to put anything on a mailbox (such as phone books, flyers, etc.).

   The right of way is generally about 12 feet from the edge of the road. It is not based on placement of the water meter or power poles. My water meter is not in the right of way but on my property. The water company has an easement, as do all utility companies, given to them by the government to access their utilities. Certain permanent structures are allowed on the right of way, such as benches for bus stops, but they must be at least 3 feet from the edge of the road and no larger than a particular size. When you start dealing with city, county, state and federal laws, you will find that they tend to contradict each other. The general rule of thumb however is that federal law trumps everything else.

9. Bjay on July 19th, 2011 2:43 pm

   Dnutjob1- Thats what I thought also. From my understanding EVERYTHING inside of the water meters or else power poles is county right away and NO permanent structures can be on them. The exceptioin is in private neighborhoods. To everyone else, I agree that brick mailboxes are more beneficial and do cut down on the bashing of mailboxes but if someone on a motorcycle swerves to miss a dog and hits one it will kill them. I think putting up a new mail\box every couple years to potentially save a life is well worth it. I would much rather hit a ditch rather than a mailbox made of brick. lol

10. mother on July 19th, 2011 8:59 am

    Parents mailbox in Escambia County Alabama got hit by man under influence of prescribed drugs, It was not blood pressure meds.. His automobile insurance paid for the mailbox. He total his car. It was on a rural road he hit it turned it round. It was one with the big mailboxes inside of it. He had just had wreck hit someone two or three days before. . Cops were not called. If they had been he would have been in trouble. I would have been much more understanding if it had been like MR. Finlay and blood pressure.

11. dnutjob1 on July 19th, 2011 6:41 am

    Bjay, you are correct, there is an ordinance against the brick mailboxes, ( the county doesnt inforce it but the state does) if you havent noticed whenever the state comes through paving a road they remove them and replace them with a breakaway. It all depends on the speed limit of the road. And for those who think there cool have someone hit yours and sue you. Anything on the ROW is subject to county and state law.

12. Lynn Hoskins on July 19th, 2011 6:16 am

    I am SO glad to hear he is doing well!!!

13. Are you serious? on July 19th, 2011 4:22 am

    No. Brick mailboxes are not illegal and no, they shouldn’t be. I’m sorry that Mr. Finlay had this happen to him, but because people have accidents and rarely hit a brick mailbox shouldn’t mean that they should be illegal. If thats the case, lets cut down all our trees…afterall people occasionally hit those too. The mailbox may have helped prevent his vehicle from striking a house…think about it.

    I can’t help but wonder if his doctor warned him about the side effects associated with changing meds like this. This was, indeed, an accident and I’m glad Mr. Finlay wasn’t injured.

14. Concerned Parent on July 19th, 2011 3:33 am

    Bjay,

    I tried to find a law concerning brick mailboxes and couldn’t find a state law or a county ordinance that would make it illegal to have one. Some states do have such laws, but Florida is not one of them.

    Personally, I MUCH prefer brick mailboxes. They’re pretty popular with those of us who have had our regular ones bashed in a few times by punks with baseball bats who think it’s the latest rave in recreational activities. It’s cheaper in the long run to put up a brick one than to keep replacing the metal and plastic ones.

15. Bjay on July 19th, 2011 12:28 am

    Are brick mailboxes illegal? If not they should be. I think I remember reading that florida had passed a law about it. Can anyone help me out with this?

16. EMD on July 18th, 2011 5:47 pm

    I am with the man’s mom. We just heard from his sister at the hospital that, so far, they have found no physical injuries. He had been the the dr. this am and was taken some medicine for his blood pressure. He passed out. After help arrived he became conscious, and then passed out again. Thus, life flight was called. He is being admitted overnight to the hospital for observation. Thank you for your prayers.

17. Lynn Hoskins on July 18th, 2011 4:12 pm

    I heard LifeFlight and went to make sure it wasn’t my teenager that had left 10 minutes earlier to go to work. I figured it may have been medical, his airbag deployed. Hope the poor fella is ok, and I’m thankful nobody else was there at the time. Praying for him and his family~