© 2025 All Rights reserved WUSF
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Our daily newsletter, delivered first thing weekdays, keeps you connected to your community with news, culture, national NPR headlines, and more.

Bobby Bowden's Grandson Dies in Crash

Polk County Sheriff's Office

Two men -- including the grandson of former Florida State University football coach Bobby Bowden -- died in a car crash early Thursday morning in Winter Haven. A third man was pulled from the car alive, after being trapped for hours in the vehicle, which was partially submerged in a water-filled ditch.

The Ledger reports that Bowden's grandson, 23-year-old Taylor Jeffrey Bowden, had graduated from FSU three weeks ago. The 25-year-old driver of the car, Rafael Fernandes De Aguiar Valim of Winter Haven, was also killed. Robert Lewis Edwards, 22, survived and was taken to the hospital.

Robin Sussingham was Senior Editor at WUSF until September 2020.
You Count on Us, We Count on You: Donate to WUSF to support free, accessible journalism for yourself and the community.