Three-months after a head-on crash on 1-275 killed a motorist, a Marine Corps Captain has been charged with DUI manslaughter and was arrested in Tampa where he is serving at MacDill Air Force Base. Capt. Scott Patrick Sciple was booked and released from jail on $25,500 bail Tuesday afternoon according to a report in the St. Pete Times.
The 37-year-old Marine is accused of driving drunk on the morning of April 25 when he drove the wrong way on I-275. As he neared Bearss Avenue he was involved in a head-on collision with a Chevy Malibu. The car was driven by 48-year-old Pedro Rivera who was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital and died a few hours later from injuries sustained in the car crash. The incident took place at approximately 4:00 a.m.
Sciple and the passenger in Rivera’s car were both hospitalized following the accident as well. They were both in serious condition following the collision which happened when Sciple’s Chevy Impala was traveling in the opposite direction in the southbound lane on 275. The Times article did not mention any other details about 51-year-old Carmen Rodriguez’s health three months after being hospitalized.
According to the paper, Sciple has been in the Marines since 2001. He has served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He is currently serving at Tampa’s Mac Dill Air Force Base. There was no mention in the story of a blood alcohol level for the Captain but in cases like his it is most likely his blood was drawn once he was at the hospital as he was involved in an accident with serious bodily injury or death. The article does not mention what other counts Sciple was charged with beside the DUI manslaughter charges. Most likely there would be a DUI with serious bodily injury charge as well for the injuries caused to Rodriguez.
