Man arrested in DUI manslaughter case

CLEARWATER -- A Largo man got out of the hospital today after six weeks and was promptly charged with causing the crash that put him there.

Instead of the hospital, John Houts is in the Pinellas County jail on $300,000 bail.

Houts, 48, is accused of causing the three-car accident July 17 that killed Rose Marie Tuttle, 61, and left two other people seriously injured.

The charges: DUI manslaughter, two counts of DUI serious bodily injury, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia.

Houts was treated for a compound fracture at Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg.

Tuttle was traveling north on 101st St. in her silver 2007 Toyota Camry a little after 6 p.m. when Houts crashed into her with his 2005 Mercedes Benz, police said. The impact forced Tuttle's car into the path of a 1992 Mazda Miata headed south on 101st Street. Tuttle's car flipped onto its roof.

Mike Donilla, Times staff writer