Apollo Beach Man Charged With DUI Manslaughter After Bicyclist Is Killed on U.S. 41 in Gibsonton, FHP Says

An Apollo Beach man is charged with DUI manslaughter after a bicyclist was struck and killed on U.S. 41 in Gibsonton early Saturday, Nov. 7, the Florida Highway Patrol says. Troopers say the driver, Michael Barr, 37, gave breath samples measuring 0.162, more than twice Florida's 0.08 legal limit for most drivers, and told them he had drunk four beers at a bar in Ybor City before the crash.

The bicyclist was pronounced dead at the scene. FHP had not released the rider's name as of Monday. The case is the second deadly crash in roughly a month on the same stretch of U.S. 41 in which troopers have accused the driver of being impaired.

What troopers say happened

According to FHP and the arrest affidavit described by FOX 13 Tampa Bay, Barr was driving a Mazda sedan south on U.S. 41 near Old U.S. 41 in Gibsonton shortly before 3:30 a.m. The car hit a bicyclist who, according to FHP, was riding on the west shoulder of the highway. One report of the affidavit says Barr was trying to pass the rider when the crash happened.

Troopers say Barr stayed at the scene and told them he had been in a crash. He also told them the bicyclist had been in the center of the roadway, according to the affidavit. That account conflicts with FHP's description of the rider being on the shoulder. Investigators have not said publicly whether the bicycle had working lights or reflectors, a detail the affidavit leaves open.

The affidavit says troopers noticed the smell of alcohol and saw that Barr's eyes were bloodshot and glassy. They wrote that he had trouble keeping his balance and performed poorly on field sobriety exercises. His breath samples came back at 0.162, according to FHP.

The arrest and the charge

Barr was arrested shortly before 4:30 a.m., about an hour after the crash, and booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on a single count of DUI manslaughter, according to FHP. Law&Crime, citing Hillsborough County records, reported that he was being held without bond at the Falkenburg Road Jail. Reports on the case had not identified a defense attorney or any plea as of Monday.

Barr is presumed innocent. The charge is an accusation, and prosecutors with the 13th Judicial Circuit State Attorney's Office will decide what formal charges to file.

What a DUI manslaughter conviction carries in Florida

Under section 316.193 of the Florida Statutes, a driver who is impaired or has a blood or breath alcohol level of 0.08 or higher and causes the death of another person commits DUI manslaughter. In its basic form, the offense is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

The statute also sets a mandatory minimum of four years in prison for anyone convicted of DUI manslaughter. Florida appeals courts have held that a judge cannot sentence below that floor, which means probation alone is not an option after a conviction. The charge rises to a first-degree felony, punishable by up to 30 years, when a driver knew or should have known a crash happened and left without giving information or aid. Troopers have not accused Barr of leaving the scene.

A second deadly crash on the same corridor

Saturday's crash came less than a month after another fatal crash on U.S. 41 in Gibsonton. At the highway's intersection with Gibsonton Drive, FHP says a 54-year-old Gibsonton man was killed around 3:45 a.m. on Oct. 10. Troopers said in that case that the other driver, Pablo Mendez-Leyva, 21, of Oregon, ran a red light. He was charged with DUI manslaughter and with driving without a license resulting in death, according to FOX 13.

U.S. 41 is the main north-south highway through Gibsonton and Apollo Beach in southern Hillsborough County. Both deadly crashes happened in the hours before dawn, and in both, troopers say the driver had been drinking.

Florida's record for bicyclist deaths

Florida has long been among the most dangerous states in the country for people on bicycles. The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles counted 207 bicyclist deaths statewide in 2024, according to a December 2025 Florida Phoenix report published by WLRN. Preliminary state data cited in the same report showed 185 bicyclist deaths and 9,277 bicycle crash injuries in 2025 as of Dec. 13 of that year.

The League of American Bicyclists found that average yearly bicyclist deaths in Florida rose 38 percent, from 143 in 2014 through 2018 to 197 in 2019 through 2023, the report said. A 2021 Florida Department of Transportation safety plan found that 90 percent of pedestrian and bicyclist deaths and serious injuries on state roads from 2016 to 2020 happened in 25 of Florida's 67 counties, and it ranked Hillsborough fourth among the top five counties for those deaths and serious injuries.

Florida law has required drivers since 2006 to give bicyclists at least 3 feet of space when passing. Tampa attorney Steele Olmstead told the Florida Phoenix the rule is hard to enforce because officers cannot easily measure the distance between a passing car and a rider. Only 130 motorists were cited under it statewide in 2024, according to the state's annual uniform traffic citation report, as cited by the Florida Phoenix.

Broader road safety measures have stalled in Tallahassee. A comprehensive hands-free driving bill sponsored by Sen. Erin Grall passed the Florida Senate 37-9 in 2025, but its House companion never advanced, the Phoenix reported.

The bicyclist

FHP had not identified the person killed as of Monday. The Florida Press will update this story if troopers release the bicyclist's name or more details about the crash, including whether the bicycle had lights.

What's next

Barr is expected to go before a Hillsborough County judge for a first appearance, where bond and release conditions are addressed. The State Attorney's Office will then review FHP's traffic homicide investigation before deciding on formal charges.

Anyone who saw the crash or the moments before it can contact FHP's Tampa troop through the Florida Highway Patrol, or call *FHP (*347) from a cellphone.