Pinellas County sheriff's deputies charged a Palm Harbor man with DUI and fleeing the scene of an accident in Treasure Island where a sport utility vehicle hit and seriously injured a motorcyclist.
Deputies caught up with Ty Taylor Morgan, 34, of 1020 Wexford Leas Blvd., after someone called St. Pete Beach police Thursday night and asked whether officers were looking for someone in a white SUV, sheriff's spokesman Detective Tim Goodman said Friday.
The reason, the caller said, was that a man was examining his SUV, as if he was looking for damage, at the corner of 70th Avenue and Blind Pass Road. Officers weren't looking for anyone then, but they responded anyway and found Morgan's 1998 Infiniti SUV parked at the far west end of 78th Avenue.
Inside, Morgan was reclined in the seat, Goodman said. He was talking on a cell phone, had thrown up and was crying.
About the same time, those officers learned of an accident involving two cars and a motorcycle at Gulf Boulevard and 107th Avenue N in Treasure Island.
"They went and checked it out anyway and ... the information started coming together between the two agencies," Goodman said.
The accident occurred about 9:50 p.m. when an SUV hit a motorcycle driven by 34-year-old Chysuk Proctor of St. Pete Beach and pushed the motorcycle into a car driven by 77-year-old Martin Welby of Madeira Beach.
Proctor suffered serious but not life-threatening head and spinal cord injuries and was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, deputies said. Welby was taken to Largo Medical Center for treatment of possible neck and back injuries. Both men had been discharged by late Friday afternoon.
Morgan, who refused a Breathalyzer test, was charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident with serious injury and driving with a suspended or revoked license. He also was charged with grand theft on a warrant out of Brevard County. He was being held without bail Friday evening at the Pinellas County Jail.
