Wrong-Way DUI Driver Kills 1 On New Year’s Day: FL Highway Patrol

MANATEE COUNTY, FL — An 80-year-old Bradenton woman was killed in a wrong-way crash early New Year’s Day, according to a Florida Highway Patrol news release.

A 36-year-old Tampa woman faces multiple charges, including driving under the influence manslaughter, driving with a suspended or revoked license causing death, driving under the influence property damage and injury, and reckless driving.

She was driving north on U.S. Highway 41 in the southbound lane, north of Buckeye Road, around 3:30 a.m., FHP said.

Around that time, a Jeep, driven by a 58-year-old Sarasota man, was driving south on U.S. 41 in the southbound lane.

At the time of the crash, the road was foggy, and visibility was limited, according to FHP. When the Jeep’s driver noticed the car driving in the wrong direction, he tried to avoid the collision by steering left toward the grass median.

Despite this, the car’s right side hit the Jeep’s right side, causing the Jeep to spin around and overturn several times, throwing the 80-year-old woman, the right rear passenger, from the vehicle, the agency said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Others involved in the crash — the car’s driver, the Jeep’s driver and another passenger in the Jeep, a 36-year-old Bradenton woman — suffered minor injuries.

The Florida Highway Patrol Traffic Homicide Unit continues to investigate this crash.