A DUI accident around 1:30 a.m. Dec. 19 near Lake Padgett took the life of a man from Lutz, and has another man locked up in jail.

  • James Stewart, 22, died overnight
  • Stewart was ejected from vehicle
  • Driver failed sobriety test, was arrested and charged

22-year-old James Stewart died overnight at St. Joseph's Medical Center North.

Stewart was ejected from a Ford Explorer he was a passenger in, with the SUV landing on top of him.

The Florida Highway Patrol says they arrested the driver, Patrick Sessa, 23, after he failed a field sobriety test.

The accident happened around 1:30 a.m. on Lake Padgett Drive in southern Pasco County.

Investigators say Sessa lost control of his SUV on a curve, sliding in to a ditch.

Neither Sessa or Stewart were wearing seatbelts, although Sessa was uninjured.

“The driver was trying to push the car off him," William Korn said.

Korn was the only witness to the crash, and told us the stretch of road where the accident happened was very dark and very foggy.

“The car just fell off the road a little, and just went over and I was like, 'I was hoping they were going to be ok,'” Korn said. “So I'm thinking I'm going to have to help someone jump out their window, out of the sun roof, but then I realized someone was literally pinned underneath the car.”

Sessa was booked into the Pasco County Jail on DUI charges this morning. The Florida Highway Patrol said blood tests on Sessa will take 4-6 weeks to be completed.