It’ll be a while longer before a trial begins over a third-degree felony charge against Palmetto resident Michael Fitzgerald.
Jury trial was set to begin Oct. 16 but was continued after Fitzgerald’s counsel, Sarasota-based attorney Thomas Hudson, filed a notice of unavailability.
Fitzgerald faces a third-degree felony charge for driving under the influence following a Nov. 29, 2021, crash in Holmes Beach that left Anna Maria resident Jana Samuels, who was 79 at the time, hospitalized.
Fitzgerald — who was 59 at the time of the crash and a delivery driver for New Port Richey-based Trulieve Inc., a chain of medical marijuana dispensaries — allegedly swerved into oncoming traffic in the 6800 block of Palm Drive and crashed into Samuels’ golf cart with a company vehicle.
Samuels was hospitalized in critical condition in Bradenton, where she remained in an intensive care unit into February 2022. The crash left Samuels with multiple fractures in her right hand, right leg and back. She also suffered internal bleeding, head trauma and damage to her spleen, according to court documents.
Fitzgerald displayed signs of impairment during the incident, according to police, and he allowed them to draw his blood for testing during medical treatment.
A Feb. 7, 2022, state lab report found Fitzgerald tested positive for THC, the primary psychoactive component in marijuana, and Alprazolam, a benzodiazepine drug.
He was arrested in April 2022 and released the same day after posting a $1,500 bond.
Punishment for a third-degree felony includes up to five years in prison, five years of probation and a $5,000 fine.
Fitzgerald has pleaded not guilty and requested a jury trial, which was scheduled to begin in June pushed to October.
And now that the October date has been continued.
Another trial date was not set as of Aug. 22, according to the Manatee County Clerk of Circuit Court.
Fitzgerald already has settled a civil lawsuit with Samuels.
Samuels’ representation, Tampa-based attorney Crosby Crane, sued in December 2021 seeking $30,000 in damages from Fitzgerald and his then-employer, Trulieve, under claims of negligence, dangerous instrumentality and vicarious liability.
Crane filed an amended complaint March 16 to seek punitive damages for gross negligence from Fitzgerald and Trulieve after Judge Charles Sniffen of the 12th Judicial Circuit acknowledged the evidence provided “a reasonable basis for recovery of punitive damages,” in a Dec. 7, 2022, order.
On March 23, a mediation report was filed to show an undisclosed “full settlement” was agreed to between parties after more than four hours of discussion.
Sniffen issued an order June 30 dismissing the civil case.