PANAMA CITY — The trial of a local woman accused of driving onto a sidewalk and over a Louisiana teenager began Monday.
Police initially charged Lee Creary, 51, with possession of a controlled substance May 22 after a midnight crash on South Thomas Drive in which 17-year-old pedestrian, Mark Garrard Robertson, was run down by an SUV and killed. Days later, Creary was charged with DUI manslaughter after investigators received toxicology results indicating she had a blood alcohol level of .189 at the time of the crash, according to investigative reports.
Creary’s defense against the charges remained a mystery Monday as the trial started out. Walter Smith, her defense attorney, reserved his opening statements until the prosecution rests its case.
The night he was killed, Robertson was returning to his room at the Boardwalk Beach Resort, 9450 South Thomas Drive, at about midnight. The honors student graduated from high school on May 17 and had traveled to Florida on a senior trip. He was drinking a milkshake when a vehicle traveling east toward the intersection at Alvin’s Island Department Store drove up on the sidewalk and struck him, police said.
The SUV continued until it collided with a palm tree.
Prosecutor Bob Sombathy said he would show jurors that Creary was driving a 1991 Chevrolet Suburban after having “way too much to drink” and struck a curb, road sign and light post before running over Robertson and dragging him beneath the SUV without stopping.
“Robertson’s skin was literally peeled off as he was dragged underneath the vehicle,” Sombathy told jurors.
He only became dislodged from the SUV’s undercarriage when the driver struck another curb before crashing into the palm tree, Sombathy said.
Eyewitnesses told jurors the SUV seemed to be going about 50 mph in a 35 mph zone. When the driver got out of the vehicle, she became hostile with officers and EMS crews. She was taken to a local hospital to treat a broken arm and a head injury, eyewitnesses said.
Hospital staff said they could smell alcohol on the woman as she was spitting and cursing at them, but she would not identify herself.
“She was swinging her arms, like head butting, she was spitting at the physicians,” said Cynda Bevis, a Bay Medical emergency department worker, in a deposition. “We had to put a mask on her just to contain those body fluids.”
Creary was treated for her injuries as investigators continued to search the SUV. Officers found a single Xanax in the center console of the vehicle, and Creary was charged with possession of a controlled substance. After receiving toxicology reports indicating she had a blood alcohol level of 0.189 at the time of the crash, officers filed charges of DUI manslaughter. The legal limit for alcohol is .08.
Creary’s trial continues Tuesday. She could face up to 15 years in prison if convicted.