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Fla. firefighter, passenger die in motorcycle crash

Diana Gilboy, 43, was a firefighter for 10 years; colleagues described her as an ambitious woman and knew how to empathize with her patients

Orlando Sentinel

SEMINOLE COUNTY, Fla. — Two women, including a longtime Casselberry firefighter/paramedic, were killed in a crash in Apopka Sunday morning, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The crash took place along the 2200 block of Haas Road at about 11 a.m., the FHP stated.

Sgt. Kim Montes said a pickup truck driven by Matthew Hoyt of Umatilla was pulling out of a private driveway when it tried to make a left turn into the direct path of the motorcycle.

The motorcycle struck the left side of the truck, Montes said, and both vehicles caught fire.

The driver of the motorcycle, Diana Gilboy, 43, of Orange City, and her 34-year-old passenger, a Sanford woman who was later identified as Sarah Post, were both pronounced dead at Florida Hospital Apopka.

Gilboy was a firefighter/paramedic with the Casselberry Fire Department for 10 years before the department merged with Seminole County EMS/Fire/Rescue just this past Thursday.

Seminole County EMS/Fire/Rescue confirmed that Gilboy was a firefighter/paramedic with Station 25 in Casselberry.

Lt. Robert Schamberger, who worked with Gilboy since she began with Casselberry Fire Department and was her lieutenant up until yesterday, described an ambitious woman who created a unique bond with her patients because of the way she empathized with them during emergencies.

“You can see that her patients truly appreciated that she was the one giving care and the way she approached that,” he said.

Gilboy embraced new experiences and sought as much knowledge as she could, enrolling in more special ops and firefighter survival classes than anyone else that Schamberger was directly responsible for, he said.

“Her role was going to be the same initially, with lots of opportunity for her to progress,” said Schamberger of the merger with Seminole County EMS/Fire/Rescue.

“She certainly had a relationship or a bond with other young females,” he said. “She was proving to them, you can do whatever you want.”

Hoyt was taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center in serious condition, Montes said. A passenger, Michael Richards, suffered minor injuries.

The crash remained under investigation, and charges were pending, Montes said.

Schamberger said that a special funeral will be held to memorialize Gilboy’s service to the fire department.

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