Braden River coach turns himself in on DUI manslaughter charge

SARASOTA — Former Braden River High football coach Josh Hunter today surrendered to authorities on a charge that he was drunk when he crashed his truck in March, killing his best friend, Doug Garrity.

Assistant State Attorney Earl Varn said his office obtained a warrant for Hunter’s arrest at about noon today. Hunter surrendered at 4:30 p.m., and he has since been released from the Sarasota County jail on $25,000 bond. He faces a charge of DUI manslaughter.

Hunter’s attorney, Brett McIntosh, said authorities claim his client’s blood alcohol level was 0.21 after the March 21 crash. The legal limit in Florida is .08.

“Obviously, this is something we anticipated,” McIntosh said. “He’s going to face it. We have quite a bit of work to do on our end of our investigation. I think there are some significant issues regarding what caused this accident to occur.”

Hunter was driving his Ford pickup in south Sarasota County when it crashed on an on-ramp on Interstate 75 near Nokomis. Garrity, a football assistant coach and Hunter’s best friend, died when he was ejected from a backseat in the vehicle.

No sobriety tests were given at the scene and no arrest was made. But Florida Highway Patrol troopers drew Hunter’s blood and sent it to a lab for drug and alcohol testing.

In April, the toxicology reports came back.

A state champion during his playing days at Southeast High School, Hunter was named Braden River’s first head football coach in March 2005.

This past April, he resigned from his job as head football coach.

And in August, Hunter resigned his position as a physical education teacher at Braden River High.

This story was originally published October 29, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Braden River coach turns himself in on DUI manslaughter charge."