WSLS (Roanoke, Va.): The family of Daniel Joseph Dorsch and his wife, Cyndie Dimalanta Dorsch, has confirmed that the couple were killed in a plane crash July 5. Daniel Dorsch was the former CEO of Checkers Drive-In Restaurant and owned a motorcycle dealership and several Papa John's pizza franchises in the Tampa, Fla., area.
The family asks that any letters of condolence be sent to Fun Bike Center Motorsports, 1845 E. Memorial Blvd., Lakeland, FL 33801.
The Roanake Times reports that the Tampa couple's single-engine plane crashed Sunday in rural Virginia. They had been in New York for the weekend and were supposed to fly back to Tampa on Sunday in their private plane.
Dorsch, 56, served as Checkers' CEO and president for nearly 3 1/2 years - from December 1999 to April 2003 - before leaving the company abruptly. Known as a demanding but effective leader, Dorsch inherited a 934-store restaurant chain mired in debt and slashed the company's executive staff before moving it from Clearwater to cheaper space in Tampa. He left behind a leaner, 778-store chain.
