Hernando chamber colleagues mourn woman who died in crash
BROOKSVILLE – Barbara Logan, who worked with the Greater Hernando County Chamber of Commerce for the past seven years, died Saturday after a motorcycle crash in Pasco County. She was 49.
“She was one of the nicest people and very giving,” said Pat Crowley, president and CEO of the chamber. “She was my right-hand person.”
Crowley said Logan had an infectious passion for the work she did and believed in the chamber’s mission of strengthening business relationships in Hernando County.
Crowley said Logan was originally hired to do bookkeeping work and her position “evolved” to accounting manager over time.
Logan’s death has been difficult on the chamber’s staff, but members have been stopping by the office and sending their condolences, Crowley said.
“We lost a member of our family,” Crowley said.
Carla Hayes, marketing and communications coordinator at HPH Hospice, said it was easy to be both a co-worker and friend to Logan.
“Barbara is just one of those easygoing, beautiful souls that just got along with everybody,” said Hayes, who worked with Logan for about six years at the chamber. “She was a driving force behind the financial end of the chamber and a big role in their success.
“That office is so small, whether we wanted to be or not, we were involved in each others lives and really supported each other,” Hayes said.
Logan loved motorcycling, Hayes said, and was riding with her boyfriend at the time of her death.
According to a Florida Highway Patrol crash report, Steven Irenze, 56, and Logan were riding together on a 2012 Harley Davidson in New Port Richey, in the area of Rowan Road, north of Massachusetts Avenue.
Around 10 p.m., Irenze and a car driven by Melanie Gray, 23, collided as they tried to merge into a single lane. The motorcycle overturned, and both riders were thrown from the bike.
Logan died on the scene, and Irenze was taken to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point with serious injuries. He was still listed as a hospital patient on Thursday afternoon.
The driver of the car was not injured.
Logan is survived by her sister, Carol Russo, of Pasco County.
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