Pinellas Man Fatally Hits Bicyclist Sunday On 62nd Avenue North
Michael Babboni
Crash Reports
A Pinellas Park man has been detained by police and charged with fatally striking a cyclist in the early hours of Sunday morning while driving under the influence and then leaving the scene. Nicholas Carusotti was driving eastbound in a 2022 Toyota Tacoma on 62nd Avenue N, west of 39th Street N, when he overtook and then hit a bicyclist at 2:39 A.M.
After crashing into the bicyclist, Carusotti fled the scene, first in the pick-up truck and then on foot, according to a press release from Florida Highway Patrol.
Carusotti was located by Pinellas Park Police and determined to be impaired, according to troopers. He was later arrested by police for leaving the scene of a fatal crash and DUI manslaughter.
The cyclist was a 64-year-old resident of Brewster in New York, about 50 miles north of Manhattan. He suffered injuries from the crash for not wearing a helmet.
Carusotti has a history of civil traffic violations, according to Pinellas and Hillsborough county court records. In 2012, having just turned 19, he was convicted of driving with an expired registration. Then again he was convicted of an expired registration. In 2015 he received a traffic citation for unlawful speeding.
Three years later, he was charged with failing to yield at an intersection, but the charges were dismissed. In 2019, he failed to stop at a red light camera. In 2020, he was charged with speeding and completed court-ordered driving school.