The man arrested Tuesday in connection with the Oct. 18 hit-and-run crash that killed two tourists has bonded out of jail.
Charles Winzenread, 45, was taken into custody Tuesday afternoon at the Clearwater business where he works, police said. He is charged with leaving the scene of a crash involving death.
Police say Winzenread was the driver of a silver 2002 Mercedes-Benz SUV that struck two Illinois tourists on Memorial Causeway near Island Way and then fled the scene.
Winzenread barely spent eight hours behind bars before posting bond and being released just before 2 a.m. Wednesday. A judge had set his bail at $100,000.
Clearwater police, however, say they are confident Winzenread will be back behind bars soon.
Police say a piece of a vehicle recovered at the crash scene matches Winzenread's Mercedes.
Also, multiple surveillance cameras captured the SUV near the scene of the crash and multiple witnesses have come forward saying they saw Winzenread leaving a Clearwater Beach restaurant and getting into the SUV moments before the crash.
"There was a significant amount of evidence that was analyzed throughout this incident," Chief Dan Slaughter said. "We are seeing more and more often video is a major component of an investigation and that was surely a fact that was true with this investigation."
Viola Flores, 51, and John Berg, 62, died at Morton Plant Hospital shortly after the crash. They were in town on vacation from a suburb outside Chicago.
Slaugther said their families have been informed about the arrest, and that they are very relieved.
The couple was not in the crosswalk at the time of the crash, but it's illegal to leave the scene of an accident involving injury or death. In addition, witnesses have told police Winzenread may have been drinking that night.
Police say Winzenread's girlfriend was riding with him at the time, but she has not been charged with a crime.