Tarpon Springs, FL (February 19, 2021) - A deputy with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office was killed in a crash that happened on Wednesday, February 17th. The crash took place on East Lake Road. 

According to a report from the scene, Deputy Michael Magli was setting up stop sticks during a police pursuit of a suspected impaired driver when he was hit by a vehicle driven by 33-year-old Robert Allen Hozaepfel. Magli's vehicle was pinned beneath Holzapefel's car and he was pronounced dead at the crash scene. Hozaepfel was arrested following the accident. No other injuries were reported.

There is no additional information available at this time.

There are about 250,000 injury accidents that occur in Florida every year. Some of these crashes taken place due to impaired driving. A driver who chooses to get behind the wheel of a vehicle while intoxicated is placing both themselves and all other motorists at great risk of being injured due to their negligence.

Our thoughts are with the family of Deputy Michael Magli in the aftermath of this tragic crash in Tarpon Springs.

Rubenstein Law is dedicated to serving individuals & families injured by the negligence of others. We know first-hand the heartbreak that can be left behind after an accident. In our news blog, we write about cases of personal injury relevant to our line of work, and we report on news of judgments and appellate cases that affect the rights of personal injury claimants. We feel a responsibility to raise awareness of the injury and tragic loss of life occurring across our state every day.

Note: These posts are created using publicly available (secondary) sources, information has not been independently verified. If you see any information that should be corrected, please bring it to our attention and we will make adjustments. The photos depicted in these posts are not representative of the actual accident scene.