St. Pete Man Arrested In Crash That Killed 2 In Largo

LARGO, FL — A 25-year-old St. Petersburg man faces multiple criminal charges after toxicology reports revealed he had a blood alcohol level that was more than twice the legal limit during a May crash in Largo that left two people dead.

According to the Largo Police Department, the case against Cesar Gonzalez-Calderon began to unfold on May 12. Debbie Savanpanyadeth and Somsack Khamvongsa were both in the emergency lane of southbound U.S. 19, near Central Avenue. Police say Savanpanyadeth’s vehicle had broken down and her co-worker Khamvongsa had stopped his vehicle in front of hers in an effort to help.

Get the Patch newsletter and alerts in your inbox.

Both were outside their vehicles when a 2003 Ford Expedition that was southbound on U.S. 19 crossed the line, entered the emergency lane and struck both vehicles and their drivers, an email from the police department said.

Calderon, police said, got out of the Expedition and took off on foot after the crash. A K9 unit found him a short time later, the agency’s email noted.

Savanpanyadeth and Khamvongsa died as a result of injuries suffered in the crash, the police department said.

Calderon was brought into custody, but was later released pending DNA and toxicology reports. The police department said those results came in last week. “Calderon had a blood alcohol level over double the legal limit,” the email said. “DNA placed Calderon in the driver’s seat.”

Authorities caught up with Calderon on Friday, July 7 at his home in St. Petersburg. He now faces two counts each of vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash involving death and operating a vehicle without a valid driver’s license causing a death. He was taken to the Pinellas County Jail, but had not been fully processed as of late Friday afternoon.

Image via Shutterstock