Driver stopped by trooper in Skyway 10K crash has been ruled incompetent to stand trial
The woman accused of driving around barricades at high speeds toward the 2022 Skyway 10K, before being stopped in a head-on crash with a trooper, has been ruled incompetent to stand trial.
A psychiatrist found that Kristen Watts, 52, of Sarasota, needs urgent mental health treatment and is not competent to withstand hearings or a trial.
Circuit Court Judge Lon Arend signed the court order June 1.
Watts is now “committed to the Department of Children and Family Services to be placed in a mental health treatment facility,” the court order states.
The details of the psychologist’s findings are not yet public.
According to Florida state law, the criteria for an involuntary commitment are:
- A person is incapable of surviving alone or with the help of family or friends, including available alternative services, and, without treatment, is likely to suffer from neglect or refuse to care for herself and such neglect poses a threat of substantial harm to their well-being.
- Or there is a substantial likelihood that in the near future the defendant will inflict serious bodily harm on herself or himself or another person.
- Or “there is a substantial probability that the mental illness causing the defendant’s incompetence will respond to treatment and the defendant will regain competency to proceed in the reasonably foreseeable future.”
Watts’ blood-alcohol level was more than three times the legal limit, the Florida Highway Patrol has said, when she drove around multiple barricades around 9 a.m. March 6, a Sunday, toward the Sunshine Skyway Bridge.
The northbound lanes were closed for an annual 10K race, and thousands of participants and workers were on and near the bridge.
The last officer in her path, FHP Trooper Toni Schuck, rammed her SUV head-on into Watts’ BMW 335i to stop her.
The Tampa Bay Times reported Watts also tried to swing at a trooper and was “yelling and verbally abusing the medical staff attempting to treat her” as she was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Schuck suffered serious injuries to her neck and spine in the crash. She was honored for her bravery by Manatee County and Bradenton city officials.
Watts was initially facing DUI charges involving bodily injury and property damage, reckless driving, and attempting to elude a law enforcement officer.
This story was originally published June 2, 2022 at 10:23 AM.
