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Driver Charged In Fatal Crash

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By VALERIE KALFRIN

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 14, 2008

  Cheryl Riemann

TAMPA - A woman who drove the wrong way on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway, causing the death of a mother and injuring a 4-year-old girl, had a level of alcohol in her blood about three times the legal limit, authorities said Saturday.

The Florida Highway Patrol on Saturday charged Cheryl Maria Riemann, 25, of Ruskin, with four felonies: vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, DUI resulting in serious bodily injury and reckless driving.

Troopers arrested Riemann upon her discharge Saturday from Tampa General Hospital, where she had been treated for serious injuries from the Wednesday afternoon crash.

Blood drawn at the hospital after the wreck showed Riemann's blood-alcohol level at 0.244, said Sgt. Steve Gaskins, a highway patrol spokesman. Florida law presumes intoxication at 0.08. Results of additional toxicology tests are pending.

Riemann did not have a prior criminal record in Hillsborough or Pinellas counties. Records show she was found guilty of a handful of traffic violations in recent years, including driving without a valid license in 2005.

Troopers still did not know where Riemann entered the expressway and had additional witnesses to interview, Gaskins said.

Investigators found surveillance video showing Riemann's 2008 Honda Pilot driving east in the westbound lanes immediately after passing through the 78th Street toll plaza, Gaskins said.

The Honda drove over cones that demarcate the toll plaza's east and west lanes, Gaskins said.

The cones do not have enough gaps between them for a car to fit through, he said. They are in place to adjust how many toll booths are open in either direction.

Troopers say Riemann had an unopened bottle of Budweiser beer in a cup holder in the SUV and more unopened bottles on the floor of the passenger side.

At least one bottle shattered in the crash, Gaskins said.

Riemann traveled the wrong way on the lower deck of the expressway about 2.2 miles before smashing head-on into Jennifer O'Boyle's 1998 Pontiac at the Palm River Road overpass, Gaskins said. O'Boyle's car spun into the path of a 2005 Honda van, which two other vehicles struck.

O'Boyle, 24, was killed. Her 4-year-old daughter, Summer Moll, who also was in the car, remained in critical condition at an area hospital, according to O'Boyle's mother, Tammy Rosian.

Troopers said the child suffered head and leg injuries.

A memorial service for O'Boyle is scheduled for today at The Crossing Church, 10130 Causeway Blvd., Tampa. Rosian said a trust fund for Summer will be established soon.

"I'm not going to say something I'm going to regret down the line," Rosian said Saturday after hearing of the arrest. "She already took my daughter. I don't want her to take my granddaughter."

She thanked the community for the outpouring of prayers and support, her voice breaking. "Just everybody, please say a prayer for Summer, because she's going to need them for a long time."

Attempts to reach Riemann's family on Saturday were unsuccessful. A woman who answered the door at the lemon-colored house on Alamosa Wood Avenue that Riemann and her husband, David Ramos, bought in June declined to comment.

Eddie Moya who lives across the street, said he had no idea that his neighbor was the driver involved in the wreck, which drew widespread attention.

"It's absolutely sad," he said. "I know she's not going to be the same after killing someone."

Reporter Jamie Pilarczyk contributed to this report. Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at vkalfrin@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7800.

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