A 25-year-old Tampa man has been charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in connection with a crash Saturday morning.
The man, Ryan Matthew Carll, was heading north on Dale Mabry Highway near Mapledale Boulevard in his 2006 Nissan Titan about 1:35 a.m. Saturday. A 1999 Lexus was stopped at a red light on Dale Mabry at the intersection's traffic signal, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol.
The Nissan was moving at a high rate of speed when it changed lanes and struck the rear of the Lexus, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The Lexus went into the intersection, overturned and hit a traffic signal support post.
The Lexus' driver, 39-year-old Tina Ladette Harrison of Clearwater, was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital where she died from her injuries, troopers say.
LaChan Renae Knowles, 47, a passenger in the Lexus, was seriously injured and taken to St. Joseph's Hospital.
Carll received minor injuries. He was under the influence of drugs and alcohol when the crash occurred, troopers say.
Carll's fiancée, Kathy, said Carll was not drunk. She said he had a single beer several hours before the accident and that the Florida Highway Patrol told her a blood test showed his blood-alcohol level was only about half the .08 level at which the state considers a person too impaired too drive.
She also said the blood test showed the only drugs in Carll's system were ones that had been prescribed by a doctor and that the FHP had indicated the charges would be downgraded.
Florida Highway Patrol officials could not be reached for comment today.
Carll remains in Orient Road Jail today. No bail has been set. A bond hearing is scheduled for Tuesday.
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