Wrong-way driver detection to be installed on local exit ramps

Earlier this week, Pinellas County officials approved of a $1.4 million project that will install wrong-way detection devices on Tampa’s freeways. 

• The technology, which alerts authorities that a car is driving the wrong way on the road, will be placed on heavily-trafficked roads, including I-275, I-175 and I-375. 

• County officials made this push after there were three crashes in October of last year involving drivers going the wrong way on exit ramps. 

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New details emerge on Salt Life founder who shot 18-year-old girlfriend

Michael Troy Hutto, who started the popular clothing brand Salt Life, is accused of fatally shooting his 18-year-old girlfriend last month inside a hotel room.

• Hutto told investigators that the shooting was an accident.

• The day after the shooting, Hutto was rushed to a Jacksonville hospital after authorities found him overdosing in a gas-station parking lot. 

A judge this week ruled that Hutto––facing charges of manslaughter––is a flight risk and should remain in jail.

Woman arrested at heated school board meeting

Earlier this week, a woman was arrested at a Pinellas County school-board meeting concerning whether students should continue to wear masks inside. 

• Turner, who wasn’t wearing a mask, was asked to leave the building after she became irate at board members. 

• She now faces charges for trespassing, disorderly conduct and battery of a police officer. 

Despite the mood from citizens attending the meeting, the board voted in favor of requiring students to continue to wear their masks while on school grounds.

Classes cancelled as Hurricane Eta arrives

Yesterday, Pasco and Pinellas school officials sent their students home and told them not to come back today in preparation for Eta’s landfall. 

• Since the hurricane started forming in the gulf, school districts have been worried about buses being on the road when the storm made landfall.

• Hillsborough officials also decided to only hold class online, as several schools in the district are designated as storm shelters. 

In a statement to the press, school officials told parents to check their email for updates.

Jailor facing murder charges following inmates death

A correctional officer in Florida is being charged with second-degree murder after an inmate died under his watch earlier this year.

• While few details from the case have emerged, a grand jury indicted Michael Riley after the inmate died, “as a result of actions taken by Riley in his capacity as a correctional officer,” a statement to the press read. 

• Prosecutors have not released the name of the inmate who died. 

Now Riley, in a dark twist of irony, is the one who finds himself in jail.