State and local officials, along with family members, gathered this past week to honor late Lake County Sheriff Chris Daniels by naming a section of State Road 19 after him.
The port of the highway, officially named Sheriff Chris Daniels Memorial Highway, runs from Lane Park Cutoff to U.S. Hwy. 441 and is a heavily traveled portion of the roadway.
The renaming was made possible by legislation introduced by state Sen. Dennis Baxley and State Rep. Larry Metz. They were joined at the ceremony by current Sheriff Peyton Grinnell, who spoke about Daniels, as well as the former sheriff’s daughters, Ashley Daniels and Lindsey Daniels Fenton.
Chris Daniels, who had been sheriff for two years after a 17-year career with the department, died in a freak accident on Oct. 14, 2006 – his 47th birthday – while participating in a charity bus race at New Smyrna Speedway. He was competing with other sheriffs in an event called the Battle of the Badges, a fundraiser for the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranches, when he was thrown from the bus he was driving and run over.