Pickup driver faces charges including DUI manslaughter

Photo courtesy FHP

A 72-year-old Clermont woman was killed and three other occupants of an SUV traveling on U.S. Highway 441 in southeast Marion County on Friday night were injured when the SUV was struck from behind by a driver now charged with DUI Manslaughter, the Florida Highway Patrol reports.

According to an FHP press release, the SUV, which was being driven by a 53-year-old Ocala man, was headed north on U.S. Highway 441 near Southeast 92nd Loop around 7:40 p.m. when a pickup truck driven by a 54-year-old Ocala man approached the “slower moving (SUV) from the rear” and struck the SUV.

The driver of the SUV incurred minor injuries while a 60-year-old female passenger and 76-year-old male passenger both suffered serious injuries. All occupants of the SUV were wearing seat belts, according to the FHP.

The press release stated that the pickup truck driver, who was wearing a seat belt and had minor injuries, was arrested on the DUI manslaughter charge, “among several other criminal charges, and booked into the Marion County jail.”