CLEARWATER, Fla. — A 19-year-old man has been arrested on vehicular homicide charges for a deadly crash on U.S. Highway 19 in Clearwater on Jan. 26.
Clearwater police said Tyler Graham admitted that he was driving northbound at around 80-85 mph because he was rushing to get home between classes, according to the arrest affidavit.
Graham was "making rapid lane changes" in his 2010 Toyota Tacoma truck "with a willful...disregard for the safety of others," police said. He moved into the middle lane near Seville Boulevard and hit the corner of the rear bumper of a Chevrolet S-10 truck.
The impact caused the truck to flip over on its roof while sliding against the barrier wall of the highway, according to the report.
Stephen Douglas De-Meza, a 71-year-old from Dunedin, was sitting in the front passenger seat and was trapped inside the truck. He was found unresponsive when EMS crews arrived at the scene. Clearwater police said he later died at the hospital.
Graham faces one count of felony vehicular homicide. He was released on bond on March 3.