Driver charged with DUI manslaughter

TAMPA – Troopers say a 44-year-old man was killed when his motorcycle was hit by a car speeding and running a red light early this morning.

James D. Dean was turning left onto the Veteran’s Expressway at Hillsborough Avenue at 1:35 a.m. when a car heading east on Hillsborough ran a red light and hit his 2005 Yamaha, according to FHP.

Dean, who was not wearing a helmet, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Troopers arrested Antoinette Morello, 42, of 6516 Seafairer Dr., Tampa, and charged her with DUI manslaughter. After the crash, she was transported to St. Joseph’s Hospital with minor injuries.

She was listed in the Orient Road Jail without bail this morning.

The crash caused $5,000 in damage to her 1995 Ford Escort station wagon and $5,000 in damage to Dean’s motorcycle.

-- Catherine E. Shoichet, Times Staff Writer