Article published Feb 8, 2004 RETIRED UF PROFESSOR, STEPSON 2 area cyclists killed near High Springs
The driver was arrested and charged with leaving the scene of the accident.
A retired University of Florida professor and his stepson, who had just left Gainesville for a round-
trip bike ride to Georgia, were killed Saturday morning when their bicycles were hit by a vehicle
whose driver appeared impaired, state police said.
Gainesville resident Gustavo A. Antonini, 66, and Jupiter resident William
W. Cupples, 42, were pronounced dead at the scene.
They had been riding north in the bike lane on State Road 45, just north of NW 46th Avenue near High
Springs, when a 1979 Chevy pickup traveling in the same direction drifted to the right and struck
them at 8:55 a.m., according to the Florida Highway Patrol.
At the scene of the accident, two gray bicycle helmets rested side by side several feet from a
mangled mess of tires and metal.
It was Antonini's birthday on Saturday. Charles Ray Porter, 46, of Alachua, was arrested and charged
shortly after he fled the accident and lost control of his vehicle when he struck a neighborhood
crime watch sign, FHP Lt. Mike Burroughs said. His pickup had flipped about 3.5 miles north of the
accident scene along SR 45.
After complaining of an injury, Porter was taken to the North Florida Regional Medical Center where
he was waiting to be evaluated Saturday evening. He was later booked into the Alachua County jail
on two counts of leaving the scene of a traffic crash involving death, according to Sheriff's
Office records.
Burroughs said investigators are looking into whether drugs or alcohol played a part in the crash.
"There is a suspicion of impairment," the lieutenant said. "Where that impairment was derived from
we're not totally sure as of yet. We feel that it is a controlled substance other than alcohol."
A blood alcohol specimen was taken and sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for
analysis, Burroughs said. Results are expected within 10 to 14 days.
If test results show Porter was impaired or under a controlled substance, "it is highly likely that
we will review upgrading his charges to DUI manslaughter," Burroughs said.
According to court records, Porter has been arrested on more than a dozen charges since 1980,
including worthless checks, possession of marijuana, grand theft, dumping industrial substance
and battery.
He has been found guilty of writing a worthless check in 2001, use or possession of drug
paraphernalia in 1995 and theft in 1995, according to records.
"We're fortunate to have caught him this quickly," said FHP Sgt. David Roberts.
For friends and family members of both men, however, the arrest provided little consolation. But at
least they died doing what they loved, some said.
"We like to think it was a fast death," said Deborah Cupples, Gustavo's stepdaughter and William's
sister. "They were doing what they liked, and they liked being together doing it."
Deborah Cupples, 38, said the men had been on the road early Saturday morning for a 190-mile ride
organized by the Gainesville Cycling Club. They were part of a group of 30 or more riders headed for
the Georgia border, with a lunch stop planned at Lake City Community College.
"My mother was going to bring them soup and bread," she said, "but they never called."
Instead, Cupples said, state troopers came to her mother's house in northeast Gainesville and
reported that the two had been hit and killed.
Antonini, who retired from UF in 2000 after 30 years with the university, was a Florida Sea Grant
professor emeritus and expert in water management, according to a UF colleague, Bob Swett. In
2000, he was presented with a leadership award by the governor's Council for Sustainable Florida,
Swett said.
His stepson worked for Florida Power and Light.
For years, Antonini and William Cupples had turned their enjoyment of cycling into a full-
blown passion. In retirement, Antonini had even begun putting as many as 200 miles per week
into the pedals.
"When we went to Atlanta over Christmas he took his bike with him," his stepdaughter said. "This was
a real serious part of him."
Jim Wilson, who had organized the cycling club's ride, said the accident was further proof that
biking can be a dangerous sport.
"You certainly have that sort of view when something like this happens."
In 2001, the latest year for which statistics have been compiled, Alachua County had four bike
fatalities. It was surpassed only by counties with much larger populations - Palm Beach with 11, Miami-
Dade with 10 and Hillsborough with nine. Leon County, which is similar in size and demographics to
Alachua, had no fatalities.
Statistics show that Alachua County also has a high per-capita rate of bike accidents with 102 in
2001, the lowest number in several years. But Leon County had only 41 in 2001 and has consistently
fewer than Alachua County.
Greg Bruno can be reached at (352) 374-5026 or greg.bruno@ gvillesun.com.