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Skyway DUI suspect makes court appearance
Kimberly Kuizon reports
PALMETTO, Fla. - The woman accused of driving while intoxicated and crashing into a state trooper's patrol car returned to court Tuesday.
The suspect, 52-year-old Kristen Watts, faced a judge for the first time since her first appearance in March.
She is facing charges related to DUI causing a serious injury and attempting to flee from an officer, after driving through barricades on the northbound side of the Skyway Bridge, and did not pull over for officers on March 6, during the Skyway 10K.
Her court appearance on Tuesday was for a case management conference, which she is required to attend. This comes one day after her defense attorneys requested Watts have a competency hearing.
Court documents say the defense believes Watts does not have the mental capacity to proceed with this case and doubts she has the ability to understand the nature of the proceedings.
On March 6, about 2,000 people were walking, jogging, or running 10 kilometers along the northbound side of the Skyway Bridge to raise money for the Armed Forces Families Foundation.
During the event, northbound I-275 traffic was re-routed to US-41. According to Florida Highway Patrol, Watts was driving drunk and ignored the barricades.
FHP directed troopers and Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission officers attempted and stop her. She’s accused of driving her BMW through the traffic cones, and when officers tried pulling her over, she kept going.
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Raw video: FHP dashcam video shows trooper stopping DUI driver from reaching Skyway 10K runners
Dashcam video from Florida Highway Patrol Master Trooper Schuck's Chevrolet Tahoe shows the moment she maneuvered her patrol SUV to stop a speeding DUI suspect who had driven around barricades from reaching thousands of runners participating in the Skyway 10K race.
Two troopers used their vehicles as barriers to prevent Watts from getting closer to the runners. She ended up smashing into one of the trooper’s patrol vehicles nearly head-on. The trooper was taken to the hospital for serious injuries but is recovering.
"This Florida highway patrol trooper is without question a hero," said Trooper Ken Watson from Florida Highway Patrol. "For this trooper to risk her life to make sure that others will be OK is the epiphany of what service is all about."