Off-duty BSO deputy dies in motorcycle crash

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Posted: 01/01/2012

Ariel Barkhurst, Staff Writer, Sun-Sentinel

An off-duty Broward Sheriff's Office deputy died in Oakland Park on Sunday when he crashed his motorcycle into the side of a car that had pulled out in front of him.

John Blackwelder, on a 2010 Honda café-style motorcycle, hit Stajka Vangov's Cadillac at Commercial Boulevard and Northeast Third Avenue as she tried to turn left, said BSO spokeswoman Veda Coleman-Wright.

Blackwelder, 45, died on the scene around 12:30 p.m. He was wearing his helmet, Coleman-Wright said. He leaves behind two children, a BSO media release said.

Vangov, 75, was not injured.

Coleman-Wright said Blackwelder was on the force from 2000 to 2007 and from January of 2010 until his death. He worked out of the Pompano Beach BSO office.

The incident is under investigation, Coleman-Wright said. One question detectives hope to answer is why Vangov pulled out in front of the oncoming motorcycle.