Tampabay: Man sentenced to 10 years for two DUI deaths

Tampa Bay

Special report

A Cry in the Night
Almost 25 years after a murder shocked the little city of Gulfport, the man convicted of the killing hopes that DNA evidence can clear him.
More special reports

Video report

Paycheck to paycheck
Catch up with a once–struggling dad, a budgeting retiree and a resourceful mom.
More video reports

Multimedia report

Owning vs. renting
The end of the real estate boom has led to a community mix that some owner-occupants say they didn't bargain for. See detailed, clickable maps with data for your neighborhood.
More multimedia reports

Man sentenced to 10 years for two DUI deaths

By Times Staff Writer
Published February 1, 2006

LARGO - A St. Petersburg man was sentenced to 10 years in prison Tuesday for a drunken-driving crash in 2004 that killed two people in Clearwater.

David A. Sherman, 23, pleaded no contest to two counts of DUI-manslaughter for the March 20, 2004, crash at U.S. 19 and Tropic Hills.

Killed were Sherman's passenger and friend, Benjamin Smith, 20, and a passenger in another car, Miriam B. Harrell, 76, of Clearwater.

Police said Sherman was speeding north on U.S. 19 when he almost hit a car during a lane change, then spun into the southbound lanes and hit two other vehicles. Sherman, an airman stationed at Eglin Air Force Base at the time, had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent, nearly twice the level at which, Florida law says, someone is too impaired to drive.