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Bail Denied For Driver

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By ELAINE SILVESTRINI

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 26, 2008

TAMPA - When she was served with DUI manslaughter charges in a fatal head-on crash on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway, Cheryl Riemann told a trooper she didn't even remember being on the highway, the trooper said.

A judge denied bail Thursday for Riemann, who is also facing vehicular homicide and other charges in the Sept. 10 crash that killed a mother and left the woman's child in serious condition.

Hillsborough Circuit Judge Walter Heinrich granted a prosecution motion that Riemann be held and said the defendant posed a danger to public safety. He also cited her previous conviction for driving with a revoked license.
Florida Highway Patrol traffic homicide investigator Frank Burke testified during a hearing that when he handed Riemann a summons for driving on the wrong side of the road, she wanted to know where that occurred. Riemann was arrested three days after the crash just as she was being released from the hospital.

When Burke told her she was on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway, he said Riemann responded, "I don't remember being on the Crosstown. Why would I be there?"

Jennifer O'Boyle, 24, was killed in the crash. Her daughter, Summer Moll, 4, who was riding with her, survived but remains hospitalized with a brace on her neck, casts on both arms and metal rods supporting her legs.

After the hearing, Arthur Rosian, O'Boyle's stepfather, said hearing of Riemann's memory lapse was "gut wrenching."

"It's beyond belief for someone to get to that point where you don't even remember," he said. "It's sad. It's really sad."

Authorities said tests indicated Riemann's blood-alcohol level was about three times the amount at which Florida law deems a driver intoxicated.

Rosian wants Riemann to receive the maximum penalty.

Rosian said his granddaughter "keeps us going." He said her condition has been upgraded to stable and that she might be moved from intensive care to pediatrics.

"Summer still has a long road," he said. "She has a lot of obstacles."

Rosian asked people to pray for Summer, and he added that people should also keep in their prayers "two other children directly affected by this": the defendant's.

Reporter Elaine Silvestrini can be reached at (813) 259-7837 or esilvestrini@tampatrib.com.

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