Crime & Safety
DUI Manslaughter Charge For Clearwater Woman in Passenger's Death
The 32-year-old Clearwater woman was charged in connection with an October crash near the Bayside Bridge in which a passenger was partially ejected from her car and died, investigators said.
A Clearwater woman has been charged with DUI manslaughter in connection with an October accident in which a passenger in her car was killed, authorities said Monday.
Veronica Herrera, 32, had just exited the Bayside Bridge shortly after 3 a.m. last Oct. 27 when the accident occurred, Florida Highway Patrol investigators said. She was headed south on County Road 611 just north of Roosevelt Boulevard when she failed to handle a curve and left the roadway, traveling into the median.
Herrera's 2006 Nissan Altima struck some landscaping before entering the roadway's northbound lanes. Passenger Noi Pinheiro, 45, of Bartow, who was sitting in the right front seat but not wearing a seatbelt, was partially ejected from the car.
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Pinheiro was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg and died from her injuries Oct. 30, investigators said.
Herrera was charged Monday with DUI manslaughter, property damage and careless driving.
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The incident remains under investigation.
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