WINTER HAVEN, Fla., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- One of two young men killed in a Christmas auto accident in Florida was identified as a grandson of ex-Florida State football coach Bobby Bowden.
Taylor Bowden, 23, of Winter Haven died early Thursday when a car in which he was riding overturned in a creek.
The driver of the car was also killed and a back-seat passenger nearly died as well, but survived nearly 10 hours in an air pocket.
Bowden was the son of Jeff Bowden, an assistant coach at Akron. He died just a few days after another Akron assistant, Alan Arrington, was killed in an auto accident in Mississippi.
The Orlando (Fla.) Sentinel said Taylor Bowden had been out with friends on Christmas night and was headed home about 2 a.m. EST when the fatal crash occurred.
A trash truck spotted the overturned car in about 5 feet of murky water at 7:45 a.m. Divers responded and concluded there were no survivors after banging on the vehicle and getting no response.
When they pulled the vehicle out a few hours later, however, they heard noises and discovered Robert Edwards, 22, Boca Raton, shivering inside.
Sheriff's deputies said it appeared Edwards was unconscious in the back seat for several hours and survived in an air pocket. He was treated at a hospital for hypothermia and other injuries.
Deputies said this weekend it appeared alcohol and speeding contributed to the crash; however, they were still awaiting the results of a blood test on the driver, who was identified as Rafael Fernandes De Aguiar Valim, 25, Winter Haven.
