By Rodney Thrash, Times Staff Writer
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
SAFETY HARBOR — A Clearwater teenager involved in an accident with a Pinellas County sheriff's deputy in June has been arrested, authorities said.
Gabrielle Granata was arrested just before 12:30 p.m. Tuesday and charged with driving under the influence.
The arrest came one day after Granata's 18th birthday and nearly three months after the Sheriff's Office said she turned into Deputy Robert Wojciechowski's path about 12:30 a.m. June 23.
The accident happened near McMullen-Booth Road as Granata tried to make a right from the inside lane of State Road 580, authorities said. Wojciechowski, 44, was in the center lane in a marked cruiser when he hit Granata's 1998 Toyota Camry. Also inside the Camry were two passengers: Teela Armstrong, 17, and Corey Lott, 18, both of Oldsmar.
Everyone was hospitalized with nonlife-threatening injuries and released.
In addition to the DUI charge, Granata received a traffic citation on an improper lane change charge. Because she was a juvenile at the time of the crash, she was booked into the Pinellas Juvenile Assessment Center.
An investigation is ongoing.