2 families share tragedy of fatal crash

SANFORD -- Margaret Curran was worried. Her son, Daniel Rosario, 26, was missing. His boss at Publix in Lake Mary had called about 4 a.m., saying Rosario was 10 minutes late for work -- something that never happened.

Curran got into her car and drove the same route her son would have taken. About 4:15 a.m., she found his car. It was crushed, sitting crosswise in the middle of State Road 46. He had died in a grinding head-on crash.

Curran told her story Wednesday on the first day of testimony at the trial of the man accused of killing him: Zachary Frank, 20, of Sanford, who is charged with DUI manslaughter.

The defendant is no stranger to Curran. Frank attended the private elementary school in Sanford where she was principal.

"He was a polite young man," she said.

And she has known his parents, Chris and Donna Frank, for 15 years.

"I have always loved the Frank family," she said.

The defendant's grandmother, Viola Frank, hugged Curran outside the courtroom after her testimony Wednesday.

"See you tomorrow?" Viola Frank asked.

"Yes," Curran replied.

It will likely be a difficult week for both families.

Prosecutor Charley Tabscott told jurors Wednesday that Frank was legally drunk and driving in his underwear when he pulled his Ford pickup onto the wrong side of S.R. 46, a divided highway, and plowed into Rosario's Honda Civic.

The crash happened about 3:40 a.m. March 30, 2001, a foggy, rainy morning.

A blood expert hired by the state is expected to testify that Frank's blood-alcohol level was 0.10 -- above the 0.08 limit set by state law.

Hospital records also show that he tested positive for marijuana.

Defense attorney Richard Mamele said Frank was not drunk.

The state is relying on blood work done by medical personnel at Orlando Regional Medical Center, where Frank was taken the morning of the crash. Those tests are not as precise as ones done in crime laboratories, Mamele said.

A defense expert will testify that Frank had the equivalent of only one 12-ounce beer in his system and was far below the legal limit, Mamele said.

One of the most compelling witnesses was Tobbie Wright, a Publix employee who was nearly the victim of a head-on crash on S.R. 46 that same night.

Wright lived in the same Sanford apartment complex as Rosario. In fact, she said "Hi" to him at about 3:30 a.m. as they both climbed into their cars to head to work at separate supermarkets.

She drove the same route Rosario did -- west on S.R. 46 toward Interstate 4 -- but was a few seconds ahead of him.

As she topped a railroad overpass, she saw another set of headlights, this one coming straight at her in her lane.

"I was terrified," she said.

She veered to the left, into the grassy median, and avoided a crash. She could not see who was driving but said it was a white pickup. Frank was driving a white 1997 Ford F-250 pickup.

A few seconds later, Evans Bacon III of Sanford was driving that same stretch of road. Rosario passed him on the left, Bacon told jurors, then he heard a crash and "saw a white something fly over the top of my car."

According to the homicide investigation by Sanford police Sgt. Gregory Smith, Frank hit Rosario head-on, and then his truck climbed onto the hood of the car before spinning free and winding up on its side.

The impact pushed Rosario's car into Bacon's Jaguar. Bacon was not seriously hurt.

The crash left Zachary Frank with permanent brain damage, Mamele said, and the defendant cannot remember what happened that morning.

In fact, cognitive tests show his short-term memory is so impaired that he can recall something only if it happened within the past 15 minutes, Mamele said.

Curran said her heart goes out to Frank's parents.

"I feel so sorry for Donna and Chris [Frank]. My son is in heaven. I have the easier part of the two," she said.

By Rene Stutzman
Sentinel Staff Writer
Copyright (c) 2003, Orlando Sentinel

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