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Couple Tells Story Of Driver Who Landed In Pool

Photo from Bill Haggerty

The Florida Highway Patrol charged the driver with DUI, DUI with property damage, trespassing and leaving the scene of an accident.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune
and RAY REYES | The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 24, 2008

Updated: 04/24/2008 07:34 pm

TAMPA - Lights shone through Bill and Laura Haggerty's bedroom window late Wednesday night, accompanied by a deafening bang.

Nicole Renee Carlin

Bill Haggerty thought a transformer exploded. Somehow, his wife knew exactly what happened.

"Oh my gosh, somebody drove into the pool," Laura Haggerty said.

As she called 911, Bill went to the screened back patio of the house he rents on Water Oak Drive in Port Richey.

"I ran out and there was a Durango in my pool," he said.

Nicole Renee Carlin, the woman who crashed her Dodge Durango SUV into the swimming pool, was not hurt, but she was disoriented, Haggerty said.

The SUV's back end was in the pool. Carlin opened the driver's door, which was above the water.

"As she stepped out, she sank to the bottom of the pool," Haggerty said.

He fished her out and asked if she was OK. Carlin, 36, asked where she was and what happened.

"I've got to get out of here," Carlin said. "Please, don't call the police."

"Ma'am, you can't leave," Haggerty said. "Your truck's in my pool."

"I can get it out," Carlin said.

She then slipped through the sliding glass door and into the house, yelling and cursing, Haggerty said.

"I don't know why I was so polite, but I said, 'Ma'am, watch your language. I have small children,'" Haggerty said.

Carlin then left the house without leaving any information.

According to a report by the Florida Highway Patrol, this is what happened next:

Haggerty followed her, but when he saw emergency medical service personnel, he told them where he saw her going.

She entered another home, 10970 Peppertree Lane, and law enforcement stopped her.

Carlin, of 7525 Fox Bloom Drive in Port Richey, smelled of alcohol, had poor balance and bloodshot, watery eyes. She performed poorly on field sobriety tests and was placed under arrest.

The Florida Highway Patrol charged her with DUI, DUI with property damage, trespassing and leaving the scene of an accident. She is being held tonight at Land O' Lakes Jail with bail set at $1,500.

Haggerty spent much of today cleaning up the patio and surveying the damage. Another few feet, and the front end of the truck would have crashed through the wall and struck his and Laura's bed, he said.

"Stuff can be replaced," Haggerty said. "Thank god everyone's OK, including the driver."

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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