MANATEE — A Sarasota woman told investigators she was driving drunk before a crash last week that killed a 21-year-old Bradenton man driving another vehicle, according to court records released Tuesday.
Mary Zimmerman, 32, has not been arrested in the Nov. 8 accident, but a search warrant affidavit filed by the Florida Highway Patrol revealed that as she laid on a stretcher in an ambulance, she told a trooper: “I was driving and I am drunk.” During a search of her car, troopers found three bottles of vodka with varying levels that appeared to have come from a cooler in the vehicle, the affidavit states.
Zimmerman appeared to be behind the wheel of the car when 21-year-old Henrique Romero-Graf, of Bradenton, was struck and killed while driving a Chevrolet van at about 1:30 a.m. Nov. 8, according to authorities.
FHP Lt. Chris Miller said if there is an arrest in the case, it could be up to 60 days before the investigation is completed.
“There may not be an arrest. It’s still an ongoing investigation. I’m not saying she is facing charges,” Miller said. “Everything at this point is pending the outcome of the investigation.”
Blood was drawn from the woman and has been sent to Florida Department of Law Enforcement to determine her blood alcohol level at the time of the crash. The results have not been returned, Miller said.
Romero-Graf, a recent Manatee Technical Institute graduate, was pronounced dead at the scene on U.S. 301 just north of Talle- vast Road.
Troopers on Nov. 10 searched Zimmerman’s four-door Pontiac vehicle stored at a tow lot in order to check the airbags, brakes and seat material from where the woman bled.
Zimmerman suffered a fractured right ankle and was bleeding from her head, according to the affidavit.
She was treated at Manatee Memorial Hospital.
Troopers also found the bottles of vodka, according to the affidavit.
“When a crash has taken place, the absence of mechanical defects of the automobile serves as further proof that the crash occurred due to operator impairment, as opposed to mechanical failure,” the affidavit states.
Zimmerman told troopers two different stories about where she was driving from, according to the search warrant affidavit.
She told a Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy she was driving home from the Gator Club, but she told a trooper she was driving home from a friend’s home, the affidavit states.
Romero-Graf’s van was traveling south on U.S. 301 approaching Tallevast Road when Zimmerman, who was also traveling south, struck the vehicle at a higher rate of speed from behind, according to the affidavit.
Romero-Graf’s van was forced into the median area where it overturned and eventually came to a rest on the west shoulder of U.S. 301 facing east. Zimmerman’s vehicle continued south and came to a rest on west shoulder facing west, according to the affidavit.
Zimmerman could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
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