Who:
Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office
Patrol Operations Bureau
-Major Accident Investigation Team (M.A.I.T.)
Cory Ziegler (Arrested Driver)
DOB: 07/16/1995
Address: 211 Earl Street, Tarpon Springs
Arrested for 3-counts of reckless driving with serious bodily injury
Three passengers injured in crash
What:
M.A.I.T. investigators have arrested the driver involved in a December 2013 crash which resulted in three people sustaining serious injuries.
When:
The suspect was arrested on October 15, 2014.
The crash occurred on December 6, 2013.
Where:
The suspect was arrested at his residence in Tarpon Springs.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Belcher Road and Highland Woods Drive (which is just south of Curlew Road) in Dunedin.
Why/How:
Following the crash that occurred on December 6, 2013 deputies continued to conduct their investigation. After multiple witness interviews and a crash reconstruction, deputies obtained an arrest warrant for 19-year-old Cory Ziegler and executed that warrant at about 7:15 p.m. on October 15, 2014. Ziegler was arrested for three-counts reckless driving with serious bodily injury. He was transported to the Pinellas County Jail without further incident. Deputies say the investigation determined that Ziegler was driving at a high rate of speed, well over the speed limit, at the time of the crash.
According to investigators, Ziegler was traveling northbound in the median lane of Belcher Road in his 2002 Ford Sport Track when he changed lanes into the curb lane in order to go around a slower moving vehicle. As he changed lanes, deputies say he noticed a truck pulling a directional arrow sign board and attempted to accelerate around the slow moving vehicle. As he attempted to move back into the median lane to avoid the arrow board trailer, Ziegler struck the trailer with the rear quarter panel of his vehicle, causing him to lose control and the vehicle to fishtail. According to deputies, the Ford then struck the median and began to roll. The roll caused Ziegler’s three passengers to be ejected from the vehicle. All three passengers sustained serious injuries as a result of the crash. Ziegler was not injured. (For further details see Release #13-264.)
The investigation continues.