In a sobering reminder of the human toll of drunk driving, a Highlands County incident resulted in the death of a 16-year-old Lake Placid girl. The Florida Highway Patrol has reported that on May 22, Thomas Raulerson, 44, was driving a Ford F350 truck the wrong direction on US Highway 98, closing on 4 p.m. In the tragic events that followed, two southbound vehicles, including the victim's, were forced to take evasive action.
According to the WFLA, a southbound SUV driver, braked and steered sharply to the right, colliding with a construction barrel on the side of the road, fleeing head-on calamity. Unable to escape fate, the unnamed 16-year-old girl braked as the SUV swerved, but her Honda Civic was subsequently struck head-on by Raulerson's truck and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigating the DUI crash that led to the teenager’s death, the Florida Highway Patrol discovered Raulerson’s blood alcohol concentration was .445, reported by ABC Action News, amounting to over 5 times the legal limit. Raulerson has been charged with DUI manslaughter and two counts of DUI property damage, the arrest made on May 30, nearly a week after the devastating incident.
Raulerson survived the collision with serious injuries and was initially taken to HCA Highlands Hospital before being airlifted to Lawnwood Hospital in Ft. Pierce, as "according to FHP, the driver of the second SUV, a 16-year-old girl, hit the brakes as the SUV traveling in front of her veered off the road," according to a detailed account by FOX13 News. Raulerson's blood alcohol level, in itself a fatal horizon for many, stands as a harsh testament to the potentially lethal mix of alcohol and driving.
