15 Year Sentence & Permanent License Revocation in Hillsborough DUI Manslaughter

In 2009, Ryan Carll caused a car crash in Hillsborough County that killed Tina Harrison, a Clearwater choir director. Carll was intoxicated at the time of the crash and ultimately charged with DUI manslaughter.

Carll allegedly mixed prescription pain killers with alcohol the night of the crash. He hit Harrison’s car at a red light on Dale Mabry Highway at about 80 mph, sending her vehicle airborne. Harrison was pronounced dead at the hospital later.

According to the accident report, Harrison and her passenger were on Dale Mabry Highway, stopped at a red light at Mapledale Drive, when Ryan Matthew Carll approached the intersection from behind in a 2006 Nissan Titan pickup truck. Harrison was driving her passenger’s Lexus.

Carll merged into Harrison’s lane at a high rate of speed and crashed into the Lexus, pushing it into the intersection. The Lexus flipped and struck a traffic signal support post.

Under questioning by the prosecutor, Carll admitted to cocaine possession and assaulting his fiancee in the days prior to the accident. He also admitted to mixing Xanax, Vicodin and vodka before driving that night.

A Hillsborough County Circuit judge sentenced Carll to 15 years in prison, the maximum for DUI manslaughter. He also sentenced Carll to concurrent sentences of five years of probation for the assault of his fiancee and possession of cocaine. Carll’s driving privileges in Florida were permanently revoked.

According to records from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Carll has been arrested several times since 2000 on charges including aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, possession of cocaine and marijuana, battery on a law enforcement officer, driving under the influence and reckless driving. Carll’s history and the fact that he was out of jail on bail at the time of the accident are likely factors in the court’s decision to sentence Carll to the maximum allowable penalty.