J.D. Gallop

FLORIDA TODAY

A 51-year-old man was killed in what authorities described as a "rare" accident when his motorized bicycle struck a turtle on the road during a nighttime ride.

The deadly crash happened around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday near the intersection of Royal Palm Avenue and Bay View Drive in Indian Harbour Beach. Investigators said 51-year-old David Kervin lost control of his bicycle and was thrown off.

Brevard County Fire Rescue crews and investigators were called to the beachside town after Kervin’s body was found in the road near the motorized bike. Investigators spotted the injured turtle several feet away.

“He apparently suffered a head injury and was already deceased when we arrived,” said Don Walker, spokesman for Brevard County Fire Rescue. “It appeared he hit the turtle."

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Investigators said there was no physical evidence showing that another vehicle was involved. A resident spotted Kervin and called 911.

The small turtle, described as a box turtle, survived the crash with a small crack in the bottom of its shell. It then managed to crawl away with minor injuries.

It was not immediately known if Kervin was wearing a helmet. Brevard County sheriff's deputies conducted a traffic investigation and an autopsy showed that Kervin's head trauma was consistent with falling off his bicycle.

Kervin worked as a server at the Eau Gallie Yacht Club, a boating group in Indian Harbour Beach.

"It's tough," Bob Crissman, the general manager of the club, told FLORIDA TODAY.

Crissman said Kervin was well-known to customers and worked at the club for 17 years.

"He was a server and all around good guy," Crissman said.

Traffic investigators say such crashes involving turtles do happen but are rare.

"You see these kinds of accidents very rarely. It's either deer or bear when you hear of an animal involved in an accident," said Kim Montes, a spokeswoman with the Florida Highway Patrol.

Montes recalled one crash involving a small turtle that was struck while attempting to cross a busy stretch of Interstate 4 in Volusia County.

"Somehow the driver clipped the turtle at such an angle that it tossed the turtle into the windshield of another car," Montes said. "The troopers got there and pulled it out of the windshield and put it in a nearby body of water."

"It happens, but it's very rare."

Contact Gallop at 321-242-3642, jdgallop@floridatoday.com and on] Twitter at @JDGallop.