Odessa teen arrested on vehicular homicide and racing charges in fatal Lutz crash

An Odessa teen has been charged with vehicular homicide in connection with an October crash in Lutz that killed another driver, deputies said.

Charles David Meininger, 17, was arrested Tuesday on a warrant and released the same day on $8,000 bail, Hillsborough jail records show. Meininger was 16 at the time of crash and the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Office is prosecuting him as an adult

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case. An arrest report was not available Wednesday.

According to a Sheriff’s Office spokesperson, the crash happened shortly after midnight on Oct. 22 after Meininger, who was driving a 2017 Chevy Camaro, ran a red light near the intersection of the Suncoast Parkway and Lutz Lake Fern Road at a high rate of speed and crashed into the driver side of a 2020 Toyota Tacoma.

Meininger is also charged with unlawful racing on the highway, a misdemeanor. He was not racing another driver at the time of the crash but was charged with racing because of his excessive speed, the Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said.

An attorney for Meininger listed in court records, Anthony Rickman, did not immediately return a voicemail message on Wednesday.

The Sheriff’s Office did not release the name of the driver who was killed due to Marsy’s Law.

Earlier this month, Bay News 9 reported that the driver killed in the crash that morning was Michael Hoerig, 20.

Hoerig’s mother, Gina Hoerig, told the station her son was a bodybuilder and organ donor and that his organs helped multiple people, including Gina Hoerig’s supervisor, who received one of his kidneys. Gina Hoerig is also working to create a foundation in her son’s honor, Strong Like Michael, to help teens who also have a passion for bodybuilding.

A GoFundMe page created for the foundation says Hoerig attended Bloomingdale High School and “his passion and goals were to mentor teens by teaching them a healthy way to exercise and work out without heavy steroids.”

Reached by the Tampa Bay Times on Wednesday, Gina Hoerig said she was not immediately available to speak to a reporter.

In a public Facebook post on Nov. 28, Hoerig said her son was struck by “a teenage boy who was driving a high performance sports car at excessive speeds.” Michael Hoerig suffered massive trauma to his neck, spine, and head, resulting in brain death, the post said. He died the day after the crash.

“Parents, please be cognizant of the type of vehicle your children are allowed to drive, and please talk to your children about the importance of driving responsibly,” the post said. “Vehicles are weapons! I would not wish the pain of losing a child or loved one on anyone. My heart is forever broken.”

Times staff writer Matt Cohen contributed to this report.