Prior DUI Offender Charged in Clearwater Traffic Death

Clearwater police went to a local bar on a tip looking for Brian Ferry earlier this week with a warrant for his arrest. Ferry had failed to appear at a court date for driving without a license. Officers say Ferry took off from the bar in his pickup before he could be arrested. A police spokeswoman indicated that the officers did not pursue when Ferry fled at a high rate of speed.

Two miles away, Ferry reportedly ran a red light and hit a Yellow Cab. The cab driver was killed in the collision. Ferry was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide, fleeing and eluding resulting in a death, driving with a suspended or revoked license resulting in a death, and the original warrant for failure to appear on the suspended license charge.

Investigators now await results from blood tests to determine if Ferry will face DUI manslaughter charges. Ferry has four prior DUI convictions.

According to court records, Ferry permanently lost his Florida driver’s license in 1992 upon his most recent DUI conviction. Under Florida law, a driver’s license will be permanently revoked after four alcohol-related driving convictions. Despite the revoked license, Ferry had two traffic arrests last year and four in 2008. The pending driving without a license charge (the one for which the officers went looking for him in the first place) carries a potential five-year prison sentence.

Ferry is now in the Pinellas County jail under a $20,000 bond after treatment for his injuries. If charged and convicted of DUI manslaughter, he will face up to 15 years in prison. The current vehicular homicide charge also bears a potential 15 year sentence.