Cocoa man charged with DUI manslaughter more than 7 months after Memorial Day crash

Finch Walker, Florida Today
·2 min read
A 31-year-old homeless man was arrested April 18 after he attempted to rape a woman in a beach restroom in Cocoa Beach, police said.

A 27-year-old Cocoa man was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide Wednesday, seven months after a Memorial Day motorcycle crash that killed his passenger.

Tyler Zimmerman was driving a 2010 blue Harley Davison Super Glide motorcycle with a New Jersey tag on May 30, while Kristen Ann Kief, 29, of West Virginia rode as a passenger, according to an arrest affidavit.

Just before 4:25 p.m., Zimmerman rear-ended a 2001 silver Pontiac Gran AM GT, driven by Vernon T. Pierce of Cocoa, near the intersection of Riveredge Drive and South Washington Avenue, the affidavit said. Pierce, 62, was uninjured.

When police arrived at the scene, probable cause of driving impaired was established, as Zimmerman had the "distinct odor of alcohol," as well as pin-point pupils and no recollection of his own passenger, the affidavit said. He was served a warrant for a blood sample. Holmes Regional Medical Center was also served a warrant for Zimmerman's medical records and blood.

The records showed Zimmerman had told hospital personnel that he had used alcohol earlier on Memorial Day, the affidavit said. His blood alcohol level from a sample collected Memorial Day at 5:20 p.m. was 122.4, about 1.53 times over the legal limit of 80 milligrams, or 0.08 grams per 100 milliliters.

Police used data from the Institute of Police Technology and Management to calculate the motorcycle's tumble for a minimum and maximum speed to find the speed of the motorcycle during the collision, the affidavit said. Their calculations showed a range of 41.89 to 49.56 miles per hour. They also calculated the speed of the motorcycle before the crash and found the range was about 54.75 to 58.40 miles per hour.

They calculated the speed of the Pontiac was about 46.48 miles per hour at the time of the crash, the affidavit said.

Kief was pronounced dead at a local unspecified hospital, according to a statement released by police following the crash. Zimmerman was treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

He was being held at Brevard County Jail Thursday evening on a bond of $35,000.

Finch Walker is a breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Walker at 321-290-4744 or fwalker@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @_finchwalker

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Arrest made following Memorial Day crash that killed West Virginia woman