Navarre man booked after crash
A Navarre man was arrested following a traffic crash Wednesday afternoon on East Bay Blvd.
Joseph R. Stewart, 26, of Navarre, was charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI serious bodily injury, DUI property damage, and vehicle manslaughter. He is booked into the Santa Rosa County Jail under a $160,000 bond.
Stewart was east bound as he approached the intersection of Mossy Oaks Drive when he allegedly applied the brakes and veered to the left in hopes of avoiding a collision with a 1996 Chevy driven by Bartholomew R. Cole.
Cole had started to make a left turn onto Mossy Oaks Drive when Stewart struck his vehicle.
Life Guard Paramedic Supervisor Gerald Ward pronounced Cole, of Gulf Breeze, dead at the scene at 3:22 p.m.
Jennifer Cole, 25, also of Gulf Breeze sustained serious injuries and was taken to Baptist Hospital, while 19-year-old Joel E. Rodriguez of Gulf Breeze was taken to Baptist Hospital after sustaining serious injuries as well.
Florida Highway Patrol Trooper Matt Freeman stated in the release that witnesses reported Stewart was fleeing from the scene of a previous traffic crash that he was involved in on Highway 98 prior to this fatal crash.
