By Rita Farlow, Times Staff Writer
Sunday, October 3, 2010
ST. PETERSBURG — A 20-year-old man who was injured in a hit-and-run crash as he rode his scooter Friday night remained hospitalized Sunday afternoon.
Bruce W. Barber Jr. has been upgraded to fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Barber was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in critical condition after the accident, which happened at about 11:30 p.m. on Third Avenue S. He had a broken leg and possibly broken ribs, according to a police report.
St. Petersburg police said Barber was hit by a 1997 BMW driven by Jessica J. Eddy, 22, of 6424 Emerson Ave. S. She did not stop after the crash, police said.
Police did not say how they tracked Eddy down, but when they found her at her home a short time later, they said Barber's scooter was stuck under the front of her BMW.
Eddy refused a breath test, but police noted in a report she was staggering and had slurred speech and bloodshot eyes.
She was charged with driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury, leaving the scene of a crash with injuries and driving while license suspended or revoked. On Sunday, she remained in the Pinellas County Jail on $23,000 bail.
Eddy was convicted on a DUI charge in California in May 2009 and was arrested on another DUI charge in August in St. Petersburg, according to arrest reports.
Her license was suspended after she refused to submit to a breath test during the August arrest. A court hearing in that case is scheduled for Monday.