CLEARWATER, Fla. — A 46-year-old man was booked into the Pinellas County Jail in connection to a deadly crash on U.S. Highway 19, according to a Clearwater Police Department news release.
Bryant Mendoza faces charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide after crashing into a parked crane in a construction zone late Thursday night on U.S. 19 at Harn Boulevard.
City officials said Mendoza was speeding in the closed-off northbound lanes of U.S. 19 in a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee when the crash occurred. His 37-year-old passenger was taken to Bayfront, where she died.
The northbound lanes of the highway were closed for several hours as the investigation was conducted.
According to city officials, Mendoza was involved in another crash about an hour before he struck the crane.
The crash, which was a rear-end collision, happened at 10:55 p.m. Mendoza was cited for careless driving, officials explain.
The second crash happened almost thirty minutes later about a half-mile north of the first location.
"The Clearwater Police Department will conduct an internal investigation to determine if the officer failed to investigate if Mendoza was driving under the influence at the time of the first crash," city officials said in an updated release.