News

Tampa Marriott Waterside Employees Victims of Fatal DUI Crash

October 30, 2010 - Tampa, FL - Three hotel employees were the victims of a drunk driver's negligence on October 30 when a fatal crash left 2 dead and 1 injured.

WTSP10 News reports that the 3 hotel workers at the Marriott Waterside in Tampa were leaving work after their shift early Saturday morning when they were struck by a drunk driver.

Matthew R. Moye, 34, a dentist in Riverview, was driving his 2011 Cadillac SUV onto the Harbour Island Bridge when he lost control and crossed into the left lane. The SUV was traveling at a high rate of speed when it slammed into Kate D. Kohlier, 24, and Douglas J. Kozar, 23, who were walking on the sidewalk.

A third hotel employee, Joao Armando Fonseca Barbosa, jumped out of the way and avoided being hit although he sustained injuries to his ankle in the process. Kohlier died on the scene and Kozar died in the ambulance from the injuries he sustained when he was pushed over the guardrail in the crash.

Rescue crews pulled Moye and his wife uninjured from the SUV, as well as a third unidentified passenger. Moye has been charged with 2 counts of vehicular homicide, 2 counts of DUI manslaughter and DUI with injury. His bond has been set at $119,000 and he appeared in court on October 31. Moye's wife was arrested for DUI back in June.

According to the 2009 Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Traffic Crash Statistics Report, there were 197,214 traffic crashes resulting in injury and 2,563 fatalities as a result of vehicle accidents in Florida.

As a service to the residents of St. Petersburg, our firm will frequently publish blogs about local traffic accidents. We do this to raise awareness about the common types of motor vehicle accidents that occur in Florida that may result in serious injury or traffic fatalities.

Common accidents include, but are not limited to: 

• single-car accidents;
• hit-and-run accidents;
• accidents caused by hazardous road conditions; and
• accidents caused by aggressive driving or distracted drivers. 

If you have been named in this blog or you are the victim's family member or friend and would like the blog posting removed from our website, please feel free to contact us and we will promptly accommodate your request.

back to top