2 from area killed on vacation in Florida

Retired firefighter, girlfriend were on motorcycle hit by car.

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By Katie Wedell, Staff Writer 11:42 PM Thursday, February 23, 2012

A retired Dayton firefighter and his girlfriend were killed in a motorcycle accident in Florida this week, while fulfilling a longtime dream to travel the country.

Willard Wright, 56, worked for the Dayton Fire Department for more than 35 years before retiring in June. He worked as a pump operator for Company 10 and then Company 12.

Fellow firefighter John Keferl said Wright talked nonstop the past few years about buying an RV and taking off on a dream trip with his girlfriend of several years, Anne Smith.

“He and Anne, that’s what they did was jump on the motorbike and go on adventures,” Keferl said.

The pair were riding a 2007 Yamaha bike on U.S. 1 in Key West on Wednesday morning when a vehicle rear-ended the motorcycle at a stoplight. Witnesses said the vehicle never reduced its speed, according to a Florida Highway Patrol report.

Wright and Smith, 49, were thrown from the bike, which skidded onto the shoulder.

The man and woman in the other vehicle, both in their 80s, were injured, according to the report. It does not state if any citations were issued.

Keferl said he thinks the Florida Keys was one of the last stops on the couple’s trip that began last July.

“He was planning on ending up in the Florida Keys in the winter time and staying there for a while,” Keferl said.

The trip was something Wright waited many years for, choosing instead to make time for his kids while they were young.

“He was a wonderful parent,” Keferl said. The divorced dad put his social life on the back burner in order to devote all his time to his three children. It wasn’t until his kids were grown that Wright met Smith, a widow, and started plotting their travels together. Keferl said the pair was very much alike and made a great couple.

Funeral arrangements for Wright and Smith are pending.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2124 or kwedell@coxohio.com.

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