Tina Pellegrino’s 17-year old daughter was in a coma for 56 days after she was hit by drunk driver nine years ago and now Pellegrino has lost her fiancé in a drunk driver accident. Pellegrino was crossing a Treasure Island street with 49-year-old David Happeney when the father of three was struck by a drunk driver and pronounced dead at Palms of Passadena Hospital.
The St. Pete Times is reporting 39-year-old Ann Marie Nunn has been charged with DUI manslaughter in St. Petersburg for the crash that took Happeney’s life. Nunn allegedly had a blood-alcohol level of 0.263, which is more than triple the legal limit. Police report she had just left a bar before the crash and was not only drunk but also taking prescription medication. Happeney was not inside the crosswalk at the time of the crash. That was also the case with eight of the 14 pedestrians who have been killed on Teasure Island’s Gulf Boulevard or Blind Pas Road. Six of those eight deaths was the result of a drunk driver according to police.
Happeney leaves behind three daughters. They ranged in age from 22 to 11. He had moved to the Tampa Bay area four years ago after losing his job. He rented a hotel room on Treasure Island to celebrate Pellegrino’s 43rd birthday. The couple met three years ago and Happeney told family two years later that he was going to marry Pellegrino. The couple was headed back to the hotel when Nunn allegedly ran the man down.
Pellegrino has a history with DUI that is not limited to just having her loved ones involved in drunk driving crashes. The 43-year-old has been arrested three times for DUI herself. The most recent arrest was in 2006. The St. Petersburg Times tried to reach the woman for comment but they were unable to speak with her.
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