Daniel Figueroa IV
Adriane Blanchett, director of logistics for Tampa’s Metropolitan Ministries, is under investigation for her involvement in a November crash that left a Polk County mother dead, according to a search warrant obtained by Florida Politics.
According to information filed with the Hillsborough County Court, a warrant to draw Blanchett’s blood was executed on Nov. 19, hours after the crash. She was suspected of driving under the influence at the time and refused a requested blood draw on scene.
“Your Affiant further believes that forensic toxicological analysis will provide evidence to show that Adriane Blanchett was under the influence of alcohol and/or a controlled or chemical substance at the time of the traffic crash and in doing so was in violation of existing Florida State Statutes prohibiting DUI Manslaughter,” Courtney Baldwin of the Temple Terrace Police Department wrote in the warrant.
No charges have been filed or arrests made in the case, but the State Attorney’s Office in Hillsborough County said a criminal investigation into the crash remains active and the office is cooperating with Temple Terrace police.
State Attorney spokesperson Grayson Kamm said the office couldn’t comment because the investigation is open. He did, however, say blood analysis can often take more than a month to come back from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, based on its own caseload at the time.
“FDLE has a lot to process. It could often take several weeks to get results,” Kamm said. “Typically, we wait for results from any blood testing before we make decisions on charges.”
According to the Temple Terrace Police Department, Blanchett, 57, was headed east on Fowler Avenue shortly after 11 p.m. on Nov. 18. Ana Elsa Rosa-Day, a 31-year-old Polk County mother and certified nursing assistant from Rhode Island, was heading west. Blanchett turned left onto Raintree Boulevard into Rosa-Day’s path of travel, the Police Department said. Rosa-Day died in the resulting crash.
According to a traffic crash report from the Florida Highway Patrol, a witness saw Rosa-Day “driving fast and swerving lanes” on Interstate 75. He said she continued speeding down Fowler and cut him off “several times” before passing through the intersection of Raintree and Fowler on a yellow light. The FHP report said Blanchett turned as Rosa-Day was passing through the intersection. Her Ford Fusion struck Rosa-Day’s vehicle on the rear driver-side quarter panel. Rosa-Day’s Ford Expedition went off-road and hit a bus stop pole before flipping several times then hitting a wall, ejecting her.
Rosa-Day was taken to an Advent Health Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
Temple Terrace police said Blanchett had “bloodshot, watery, glassy eyes, slurred speech, and the strong odor of a consumed alcoholic beverage emanating from her expelled breath.” She told officers she drank one alcoholic beverage at a bar before driving.
Blanchett consented to a field sobriety test, but was unable to complete the test because of physical limitations. Officers said she completed one exercise, a walk-and-turn, and “showed six clues of impairment.”
Blanchett refused to have her blood drawn and tested on scene, but a DUI investigator believed her to be impaired and sought the warrant.
Metropolitan Ministries is a Tampa-based non-profit outreach organization that aids low-income and homeless individuals and has an annual budget of more than $30 million. According to a Facebook post, Blanchett has worked with the organization since 2005.
Brensey Thompson is the associate director of marketing for Metropolitan Ministries. She told Florida Politics Wednesday the organization was unaware of the situation.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister serves on Metropolitan Ministries’ Board of Directors and the Sheriff’s Office often works closely with the group, including annual holiday food and gift drives. A Sheriff’s Office spokesperson said the office has no involvement in the investigation.
Blanchett did not respond to a request for comment.
