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By CHRIS TISCH
© St. Petersburg Times, published August 16, 2001
EAST LAKE -- A woman who authorities suspect was driving a car that struck an off-duty police officer last week was somewhere within an hour of investigators' offices Wednesday, her lawyer said.
But no one was telling them precisely where she was. That could change today.
Sandra Zarle, 46, is a suspect in an Aug. 9 hit-and-run crash in the East Lake Woodlands subdivision, said sheriff's Cpl. Glenn Luben. She is suspected of driving an Oldsmobile Cutlass convertible that struck off-duty Tampa Officer Paul P. Triolo as he walked on the side of the road, he said.
Triolo suffered head injuries but has been released from the hospital and is recovering.
Investigators say they have found the car they think Zarle was driving when Triolo was struck. They have evidence they think places her behind the wheel. And they have found people this week who know where she is. Clearwater attorney Denis de Vlaming, who represents Zarle and her family, said he plans to call investigators today to see if a meeting between them and Zarle can be arranged.
He called investigators Tuesday to tell them he was representing Zarle. But because of an apparent miscommunication, investigators were left with the impression that Zarle would not voluntarily talk with them and that they would have to find her.
The misunderstanding involved the nature of the interview.
The Sheriff's Office is conducting a criminal investigation into the hit-and-run. They also are conducting a standard crash investigation.
Under Florida law, people involved in a crash are required to provide information to investigators for the standard crash investigation. If they don't, they can be charged with a misdemeanor.
When people talk to investigators during a standard crash investigation, anything they say cannot be used against them in a criminal case.
A person is not required to talk with investigators about a criminal investigation. And that's where the misunderstanding occurred.
De Vlaming said he thought the detectives wanted to speak with Zarle after her Miranda warning had been read. This would mean anything she told them could be used against her in criminal court.
Sgt. Tim Pelella, who is investigating the crash and talked with de Vlaming, said he offered to speak with Zarle only about the standard crash investigation. Pelella said de Vlaming declined.
But de Vlaming said he didn't understand it that way. He thought detectives only wanted to talk to her post-Miranda, which he denied. He would have allowed an interview in regard to a standard crash investigation, de Vlaming said.
"Maybe we weren't clicking when I said I would do that and not the other," de Vlaming said Wednesday. "What she's required to do, I agreed to do."
Pelella called de Vlaming on Wednesday after learning from reporters that de Vlaming said he would allow Zarle to speak with investigators about the standard crash investigation. Pelella left a message, which de Vlaming later said he would return today.
"If he calls me, we'll arrange a meeting and get this done," Pelella said.
De Vlaming also said Zarle would turn herself in if investigators decided to arrest her. Investigators said they are not at that point.
So where is Zarle?
De Vlaming said she had planned to take this week off to go somewhere in the area. The lawyer declined to say where that is.
"She's not hiding out. She's local," de Vlaming said. "If they want me to produce her, I will do so even without a warrant."
Investigators met with her husband, John W. Zarle, on Monday night, then seized his 1992 Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera convertible, which has a white top and red body. Sandra Zarle was not at home.
Investigators say the car has damage, including a broken windshield, that makes them confident it's the car that hit Triolo.
Sheriff's officials say they have information that puts Sandra Zarle, and not other members of her family, behind the wheel the night of the hit-and-run. A 17-year-old daughter also lives at the home.
Investigators would not discuss that information.
"She knows what happened. We know what happened," Luben said.
Zarle was arrested last year on a misdemeanor drunken-driving charge. She also was cited for speeding in 1994 and 1990, state records show.
Luben said Zarle could be charged with leaving the scene of an accident with injury, a third-degree felony.
Investigators also said they're not certain that the crash was caused by the driver of the car. The area where Triolo was walking is "not the best of places to be out walking," Luben said.