Elderly Couple Pinned Under Power Lines on Honeymoon

By Grayson Kamm First Coast News

STARKE, FL -- A Florida couple is spending what should have been their dream vacation in a First Coast hospital. Bob and Florence Bowman were driving to start their honeymoon on Monday, when police say the newlywed couple fell victim to road rage.

After a wild crash, they were trapped in their car for almost two hours. Parts of a power pole and live electrical wires draped across their car. Once the power was turned off, rescuers had to cut the car open.

Troopers say another driver ran them off the road. They say he was frustrated by the couple, driving along U.S. 301 between Gainesville and Starke.

The Bowmans had only driven 200 of the 3,000 miles they'd been planning to travel. The daughter of the woman says they ended up at Shands at Starke instead of New England, where they were headed.

We now know that Bob and Florence Bowman were the ones inside the crashed car Monday. The Bowmans are newlyweds, just married June 3rd. The groom is 68, the bride is 71. They're in love and were on their way north for a dream vacation.

Instead, their spinning car shattered a power pole along U.S. 301. FPL linemen and rescuers had to very carefully carry them out and to the hospital.

Troopers say a pickup truck ended their trip. They say its driver, Samuel Shinkle, got enraged because the Bowmans were driving down 301 at five miles an hour below the speed limit. For a mile, troopers say Shinkle swerved, braked, and tailgated all around the just-married couple.

Eventually, the collision sent the Bowmans into a web of wires. It sent Shinkle to jail. Troopers are holding him on two felony charges: culpable negligence and assault with a deadly weapon.

The crash didn't just wreck the couple's car -- it also wrecked their vacation plans. Florence's daughter says the couple has decided that they're going to call off the honeymoon and just head straight home after all this.

The Bowmans are far from home right now; they just bought a house near Tampa. The victim's daughter tells First Coast News that the hospital staff, and even folks who just saw the crash, are helping them get by.

Florence Bowman has been released from the hospital. Her husband Bob is doing well and is listed in fair condition.