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Ohio Man Charged With DUI Manslaughter In Clearwater Fatal Wreck

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By STEPHEN THOMPSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2009

Mario Ghiloni

Despite efforts by his girlfriend to cover for him, an Ohio man has been charged with driving-under-the-influence—manslaughter in connection with a May 5 wreck.

Mario Ghiloni, 26, of Newark, Ohio, was booked into the Pinellas County Jail Tuesday afternoon. Bail was set at $75,000.

Ghiloni, at the wheel of a black GMC, turned in front of a Mazda at Mandalay Avenue and Rockaway Street at about 6:30 p.m., and the two cars collided, Clearwater police say. The driver of the Mazda, Cristobal Cordano, later died at a hospital.

Ghiloni's girlfriend, Kayla Smith, who was riding with him, told investigators Ghiloni was an epileptic prone to seizures and that he had nothing to drink when the two were at a Mugs and Jugs, according to court documents. But after Ghiloni agreed to have a blood draw later at an area hospital emergency room, tests showed he had levels of .071 and .072 percent and .049 and .048 percent, court documents showed.

Analysts were asked to extrapolate those figures to the time of the wreck, and they said Ghiloni had a blood alcohol percent of .100 and .105, according to the documents. In Florida a driver is presumed intoxicated if his blood alcohol percentage is .08 or above.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at (727) 451-2336

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