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DUI offender charged, biker hurt in hit-run

Police say the man and a motorcyclist collided on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard.

By JACOB H. FRIES
Published January 27, 2005

CLEARWATER - A motorcyclist on Gulf-to-Bay Boulevard was seriously injured Tuesday night after he collided with a drunken driver with two prior DUI convictions, police said.

Jeffrey Wyatt, 51, of St. Petersburg was in fair condition Wednesday at Bayfront Medical Center, a hospital spokeswoman said. He sustained a head injury in the crash.

Christopher Lee Peters, 27, of Clearwater was charged with driving under the influence, driving with a canceled license, refusing to submit to a breath test and leaving the scene of a crash with injuries.

He was released from county jail early Wednesday after posting $25,000 bail.

Peters, driving in a 1999 Oldsmobile, and Wyatt, on a BMW motorcycle, were both headed west on Gulf-to-Bay at 9 p.m. when they collided near the intersection of Hampton Road, Clearwater police spokesman Wayne Shelor said.

It was unclear what prompted the collision or if Wyatt wore a helmet.

Peters drove away before officers arrived, but witnesses gave police a description of him and his car, Shelor said.

Peters was arrested moments later, a half-mile away at the Island in the Sun mobile home park on Hampton, Shelor said. One of his car's tires was flat.

"He had the strong odor of alcohol on his breath with slurred speech and red eyes," an arrest report said.

"This is a repeated DUI offender, and these type of people are such a danger on our highways," Shelor said.

Peters was convicted of driving under the influence in February 1999 and again in June 2001, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement records. In the first case, he was given six months of probation and in the second, he was ordered to spend 10 days in jail and complete substance abuse treatment.

Jacob H. Fries can be reached at 727 445-4156 or at jfries@sptimes.com

[Last modified January 27, 2005, 00:40:21]