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Suspect in accident jailed after judge adds DUI charge
By CARY DAVIS
© St. Petersburg Times, NEW PORT RICHEY -- Thomas White was obeying the speed limit and had the right of way when he drove through a green light at Embassy and Regency Park boulevards in May 2000 and collided with a Chevrolet Blazer. The Blazer, which had run the red light, flipped several times, ejecting passenger Dene Herrmann. Although White, 26, was not at fault in the crash, authorities say he was far from a law-abiding citizen on May 14, 2000. As Herrmann, 22, lay dying, her lung pierced by a sign post, White sped off because, he later told investigators, he didn't want to get caught driving on a suspended license. When he realized authorities were looking for him, he returned to the scene, just as Herrmann was being pronounced dead. For the past year, White has been free on his own recognizance, awaiting trial on charges of leaving the scene of a fatal accident and driving on a suspended license. But on Thursday, White was back in jail after prosecutors filed an additional charge of DUI and Circuit Judge William Webb set bail at $15,000. The drunken driving charge was added last week, prosecutor Tom Stathopoulos said, because tests showed White had a blood-alcohol level of 0.097 percent shortly after the crash. Florida presumes a driver is impaired at 0.08 percent or higher. White was not charged with DUI manslaughter, Stathopoulos said, because prosecutors "cannot prove causation." Nevertheless, Stathopoulos argued that a high bail was warranted because the new DUI charge strengthens the state's case against White, who faces up to 16 years in prison if he is convicted. Herrmann's mother, Jeanette Petley, also asked Webb to set bail, saying her friends had seen White drinking at bars since the accident. The driver of the Blazer, Robert Clough, was not charged criminally in connection with the accident. Herrmann had a blood-alcohol level of 0.15 percent at the time of the crash, tests showed. Defense attorney Curtis Crider said there was no need to set bail because White has appeared for every court date and he checks in weekly with the Sheriff's Office. White, who has pleaded not guilty, had not posted bail as of late Thursday. His trial is set for July 23. In the months before her death, Herrmann was involved in three domestic disputes with her then-boyfriend, Jesse James Nacarlo, according to Pasco County Sheriff's Office records. Nacarlo was murdered in February in a drug brawl outside a Port Richey apartment complex. The murder remains unsolved. -- Cary Davis covers courts in west Pasco County. He can be reached in west Pasco at 869-6236 or (800) 333-7505, ext. 6236.
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