A 36-year-old man faces an upgraded charge of DUI manslaughter in a crash that killed a Pinellas County music teacher.
Bryce McCloud of St. Petersburg is accused of running a red light just before 1 a.m. Sunday in the 4000 block of Park Boulevard, according to Pinellas Park Police Department.
His car struck a vehicle driven by Caroline Sine, 34.
Sine died late Monday night. Police said the passenger in her vehicle, Sean Hankins, 36, her boyfriend, remained in critical condition Tuesday morning.
McCloud wasn’t injured, police said.
Sine was a music teacher at John Sexton Elementary School in St. Petersburg. Grief counselors were at the school for students and staff.
“We’ve had a young lady who’s lost her life, and that life being lost has affected many other people now,” said Sgt. Mike Lynch of the Pinellas Park Police Department. “Not only her coworkers, her family, her friends, but also students that she was responsible for teaching. These are our students, the children that we’re upbringing, and now they’ve lost somebody.”
A judge increased McCloud's bond to $150,000 on Tuesday. During his bond hearing a day prior, a judge called him a "public threat." McCloud also has two previous DUI convictions.
Sine's loved ones have set up a GoFundMe page to help with expenses related to the crash.
