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Christmas Collision Anguishes 2 Families

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By RONNIE BLAIR rblair@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 27, 2008

ODESSA - Ernest and Rose Flanagan always left home at 5 a.m. when they traveled, and they apparently held to that routine Christmas morning as they started on a two-day journey to visit a relative in Ohio.

At 10 minutes after 5 - when the Flanagans were roughly 10 miles from their New Port Richey home - a car going the wrong way on State Road 54 in Pasco County crashed head-on into the Flanagans' 2006 Cadillac, the Florida Highway Patrol reported.

Ernest Flanagan, 77, was killed. Rose Flanagan, 86, suffered broken wrists and ankles, along with other injuries. She was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital in serious condition Thursday. Her condition Friday wasn't available.

"It's sad this happened on Christmas Day," said Ernest Flanagan's son Donald, who lives in Willoughby, Ohio.

The other driver, Donald P. Holes, 52, of Jacksonville, also died, leaving unanswered questions about how he ended up headed in the wrong direction on a divided Pasco County highway in the early hours of Christmas Day.

The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating.

Among those curious to learn the answers is Dustin Allen, a Clearwater resident who is Holes' nephew.

Allen is mystified as to why his uncle would be driving in the wrong lane, but he said he did not think alcohol or drugs were involved.

"He was probably ... lost or very tired," Allen said.

Allen said he recently moved to Clearwater from Houston, and it's possible his uncle had come to the Tampa Bay area to pay him a surprise visit.

Holes, an Ohio native, moved around often and didn't have a wife or children, Allen said. Most of his family lives in Texas. Holes had five sisters, including Allen's mother, and several brothers.

"I talked to my mom yesterday Christmas," Allen said. "She's very upset about it, and most of the family is."

Allen described his uncle as a good guy, though not a "model citizen."

Holes was convicted of sexual abuse of a child in 1982 in Texas, according to court records. His arrest record also includes other offenses in Texas, Ohio and Florida, including grand theft and driving on a suspended license.

Unlike with Holes, there's no mystery as to why the Flanagans were out so early Christmas morning.

Betty Flanagan of Mentor, Ohio, who is Ernest Flanagan's sister-in-law, said the couple was on their way to visit her. They planned to arrive the day after Christmas so they would not interrupt her holiday, she said.

The Flanagans were creatures of habit when it came to trips.

"They always leave at 5 o'clock sharp," she said.

The Flanagans liked to travel. Tom Flanagan of Mechanicsville, Va., who is Ernest Flanagan's brother, said Ernest enjoyed playing cards in Las Vegas, had been to China and usually spent the holiday season on a cruise.

"This was the first Christmas they hadn't been on a cruise in years," Tom Flanagan said.

He and his wife, who also is named Betty, were celebrating Christmas with family when they received a call from the highway patrol informing them of the accident.

Ernest Flanagan had two sons, Daniel and Donald, and two daughters, Diana and Denise, all from a previous marriage.

Donald Flanagan said his father, an Army veteran of the Korean War, was in good health and enjoying his golden years in Florida since moving from Ohio about 15 years ago.

Donald Flanagan said he talked by telephone with his stepmother Thursday night. She was on medication, but able to speak. She has broken wrists and ankles, and cuts and lacerations, he said.

"I did let her know her husband was dead; he didn't make it," Flanagan said.

Researcher Michael Messano contributed to this report. Reporter Ronnie Blair can be reached at (813) 948-4218.

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