Charges laid in August Shark Key Bridge collision
Drugs, alcohol found in Sommerfeldt’s system
BY TERRY SCHMIDA
Impaired driving was a factor in a horrendous, early morning head-on collision that claimed the lives of three people on the Shark Key Bridge in August, authorities have decided.
Daniel Jacob Sommerfeldt, 32, of Geiger Key, turned himself in to the Monroe County Jail late Friday, after a warrant for his arrest was issued by the Florida Highway Patrol.
Sommerfeldt faces three counts of felony DUI manslaughter, three counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury, and another two charges of DUI, causing property damage or personal injuries. He faces 30 years in prison, if convicted of all eight charges.
Three other people involved in the deadly accident were airlifted to Miami-area hospitals in critical condition, including one who can no longer walk without the aid of a cane, or wheelchair, according to the FHP warrant.
Sommerfeldt is said to have been driving south on U.S. 1 in a Ford F-150 pickup truck, around 1 a.m. on Aug. 23, when he struck a guardrail on the Shark Key Bridge, around Mile Marker 11, and rolled the vehicle into the northbound lane. The truck was then struck by a Dodge Ram traveling north.
Sommerfeldt’s wife Catherine “Cat” Sommerfeldt, 36, also of Geiger Key, was a passenger in pickup, and was knocked unconscious by the force of the collision. She succumbed to her injuries later that day at Lower Keys Medical Center.
The driver of the Dodge, Anthony David Smith, 18, of Sebring, escaped with minor injuries, and was treated and released from LKMC. However, two passengers in that vehicle, Avon Park residents Brittany Lay, 19, and Donald Pollitt, 52, were pronounced dead at the scene.
Three other passengers in the Dodge, Natacha Alvarado, 34, of Sebring, Veronica Jean Pollitt, 43, of Avon Park, and Timothy Smith, 45, all required extensive treatment, and were airlifted to Miami. The two women both underwent several surgeries, police said.
According to the complaint, Daniel Sommerfeldt first told investigating officers that he had been “on a boat” earlier in the day, but conceded that he had, in fact consumed two drinks at the Tiki Bar, on Sugarloaf Key, prior to the accident.
Sommerfeldt refused to voluntarily give a blood sample following the crash, but was compelled to do so, by state law, which mandates such tests after a fatal accident. Examinations, at two different hospitals revealed that Sommerfeldt was indeed over the legal limit. At the initial test, taken several hours after the accident at LKMC, Sommerfeldt’s blood alcohol level rated .245, more than three times the Florida legal limit of .08.
A second sample, drawn about nine hours later at the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami, still had Sommerfeldt over the line, at .87.
That test also revealed the presence of the drug commonly known as Xanax, as well as the ultra-short acting sedatives Propofol, and Midazolam. It was unclear from the report whether the drugs were taken prior to the crash or administered by EMT or hospital personnel during its aftermath.
Assistant State Attorney Val Winter, who is in charge of prosecuting the case said Tuesday that the latter scenario was “very possible,” though he had no further information on that aspect of the case.
“It’s obviously a very serious offense,” Winter said of the charges. “We’ll review any plea offer that may be forthcoming from the defense, but we’ll be pursuing the case very aggressively.”
At press time on Tuesday afternoon, Sommerfeldt remained at the Monroe County Jail, on $320,000 bail.

 

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