Officers from the Clearwater Police Department (CPD) arrested 19-year-old Tyler David Graham of Safety Harbor for his role in a fatal crash that occurred on January 26, 2024, on US-19 in Clearwater.
Units from the Clearwater Police and Clearwater Fire & Rescue responded to reports of a rollover crash at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Friday, January 26, 2024. The crash occurred in the northbound lanes of US-19 south of Gulf to Bay Boulevard.
Firefighters extricated two occupants from a 2002 Chevy S10 pickup truck. The driver of the truck, an adult male, was transported to the trauma center at Bayfront Health St. Petersburg with non-life-threatening injuries.
An air transport was requested for the passenger, 71-year-old Stephen Demeza. Due to his grave condition, the air transport was canceled, and he was transported by ambulance to St. Joseph’s Hospital. The Clearwater Police Department confirmed that Demeza was placed on life support and later died as a result of his injuries.
According to the arrest documentation, Graham traveled north on US-19 in his 2010 Toyota Tacoma at high speed while recklessly making rapid lane changes in and out of traffic. While changing from the curb lane to the middle lane, he struck the driver’s side rear bumper of the Chevy. That impact sent the Chevy into a rollover, flipping onto its roof and sliding down the Jersey Barrier Wall.
According to arrest info, Graham admitted to traveling 80-85 mph, rushing to get home between classes. He was booked into the Pinellas County Jail on February 2, 2024, and released on $50,000 bail on February 3, 2024.