75-Year-Old Dies; Dunedin Woman Charged With DUI Manslaughter

CLEARWATER, FL — Charges against a 67-year-old Dunedin woman have been upgraded to DUI manslaughter and leaving the scene of a three-car crash Sunday, Jan. 27 in Clearwater after a 75-year-old driver involved in the crash died Friday.

According to Clearwater police, at 4:20 p.m. Belinda Hood was driving a 2010 Toyota Corolla north on U.S. 19 when she crashed into two other vehicles near McCormick Drive.

The 75-year-old driver of one of the other vehicles was taken Bayfront Health St. Petersburg and died Friday. A second driver was treated and released from Mease Countryside Hospital.

Police said Hood fled after the crash with the front bumper of her Toyota hanging off as she drove. Police caught up with her in Dunedin where they arrested her. She was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on charges of DUI causing serious bodily injury, DUI with a blood-alcohol level of .15 or above (.08 is legally intoxicated in Florida), leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and leaving the scene of a crash with property damage. The DUI with serious bodily injury charge has been upgraded to DUI manslaughter. She was rearrested and booked into the Pinellas County Jail late from where she remained Sunday.