Auburn soldier killed in motorcycle accident

Sunday, Raquiviaus “Quake” France told his mother about his dreams of completing aviation school and one day working on airplanes. Tuesday, the Auburn native, who turned 24, on June 4 was killed in a motorcycle accident in Pinellas Park, Fla.

“We were going to see him this weekend,” said his mother, Priscilla Daniel of Auburn. “We talked on Father’s Day and he told me he was in school.”

According to a report released by the Pinellas Park Police, France was traveling northbound on U.S. Highway 19 at 7:19 a.m. when another vehicle made a U-turn directly in front of him. The report said France’s cycle plunged into the rear of a Chevrolet Cavalier, driven by Laura Edmisten, 34. France was ejected at impact, taken to Northside Hospital in nearby St. Petersburg, and pronounced dead at the hospital’s emergency unit.

Police said the accident is under investigation and no charges have been filed.

France, a 2002 Auburn High School graduate, served five years in the U.S. Army, reaching the rank of E-5 Sergeant.

Recently, France was serving in the U.S. Army National Reserves and living in St. Petersburg, where he studied aviation. Daniel told the newspaper that France experienced baptism in the Jordan River, and enjoyed worldwide travel, including stops in Rome and Paris.

“He did so much for us and our country,” Daniel said. “He served one year in Iraq and one year in Afghanistan, and then he came back to me. I remember his strength, his leadership and he knew what to do right. He never got into trouble. He was a respectable young man. He was very loving. He wanted to take care of his mother.”

Harris Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.