This 1986 news brief on 'rowdy' spring breakers at Daytona Beach belongs in a museum

click to enlarge This 1986 news brief on 'rowdy' spring breakers at Daytona Beach belongs in a museum
Screengrab via YouTube
On March 21, 1986, Ted Russell, of WFTV's Eyewitness News 9, interrupted the film Kiss of Death to give an early morning news brief about rowdy college kids. And, thankfully, some hero hit record on the VCR. 

The segment, which also features some top-notch Orlando-based commercials, serves as a nice reminder of what Daytona was like in its prime.

Here's what Ted Russell had to say about unruly college kids:  

"An estimated half a million college students have jammed Daytona's beaches, causing enough trouble to keep Daytona's beach police busy. Since Sunday, lawmen have arrested 428 people. mostly for disorderly conduct. Wednesday, horseplay on Daytona balconies continued despite warnings from hotel owners and officers that someone could be hurt or killed in a fall.

Hotel owners met with the state attorney seeking his support of a new law that would give hotel employees the right to detain rowdy guests. Under the current law, a police officer must witness disorderly conduct before he can make an arrest. The proposal would also allow for a second party to file a disorderly conduct complaint against another person." 

Russell also touches on some world news and the end of after-dark beach driving at Ponce Inlet in Volusia County.  

You can skip to 1:53 if you just want to see the Daytona segment, but we highly recommend watching the whole thing. 


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