St. Petersburg driver charged in fiery Bay Pines crash that killed woman

A St. Petersburg man was arrested Wednesday after he struck a car and killed a woman while impaired by drugs, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office.

Rosario Malicon, 53, and her son Ernie Agbanlog, 26, were waiting at a red light on Bay Pines Boulevard at 9:21 p.m. Tuesday when Joshua Kohlbecker, 43, crashed into their Mustang from behind in his Ford F-150, deputies said.

The truck and car burst into flames on impact. The crash caused a chain reaction that led to collisions with seven other cars, though no other people were seriously injured, sheriff’s officials said.

An off-duty sergeant with the Polk County Sheriff’s Office freed Kohlbecker from the truck, while other bystanders rescued Agbanlog, the car’s driver. Malicon could not be removed from the car and died in the fire, the sheriff’s office said.

Agbanlog and Kohlbecker were taken to the hospital with serious injuries. Deputies took Kohlbecker into custody after he was discharged.

Deputies noted several indicators of impairment, according to Sgt. Amanda Sinni, a sheriff’s office spokesperson. Investigators are awaiting the results of a blood test, officials said.

Kohlbecker faces felony charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and driving with a suspended license leading to death.

Kohlbecker has been arrested twice before on DUI charges. In October, St. Petersburg police arrested Kohlbecker on DUI and cocaine possession charges after officers found a small plastic bag of the substance in a cigarette box in his pocket, court records show.

He pleaded guilty in 2022 to a DUI and driving 15 mph over the speed limit from May 2020, leading to a six-month suspension of his license. In addition to those offenses, Kohlbecker has two previous citations for driving with a suspended license, records state.

An attorney for Kohlbecker was not yet listed in court records. He was being held at the Pinellas County Jail Wednesday on $550,000 bond.