Woman injured in accident released from hospital
Another victim involved in the fatal pool hall crash has been released from a local hospital.
As of Tuesday, Tracy Marie Booker, 52, of Cape Coral, had been discharged from Lee Memorial Hospital, where she was taken July 20 following the accident at Diamond Billiards Sportsbar & Grill.
Ronald P. Gravel, 60, sustained life-threatening injuries when a Ford F-250, driven by William Henry Gulliver, 75, of St. James City, drove through the front windows of the pool hall, at 1242 S.W. Pine Island Road, at 4:56 p.m. Gravel was trauma-alerted to Lee Memorial, but later died from his injuries.
Two others were taken to the Cape Coral Hospital as a result of the crash. Another pool hall patron, Linda Girard, 58, of the Cape, sustained minor injuries. She has since been treated and released.
Gulliver had no injuries but was transported for observation. He also has been discharged.
According to the police report, hospital staff conducted a blood alcohol test on Gulliver. At the time, Gulliver registered a blood alcohol content of .402 – more than five times the state’s legal limit.
In Florida, a driver age 21 or over is considered “impaired” with a BAC of .08 or higher.
Police officials have confirmed that the crash is alcohol related and criminal charges are pending.
“It’s still under investigation,” Sgt. Dana Coston of the Cape Coral Police Department said Tuesday.
The truck was parked in the parking lot of Diamond Billiards, facing the building. According to officials, Gulliver entered the truck and after several minutes, drove forward at a high rate of speed. The truck drove through the front windows and the interior and struck the main bar area head on.
At the time, Gravel, Booker and Girard were seated at the bar directly in the truck’s path.
Police reported that the truck hit them, with Gravel and Booker trapped between it and the bar.
According to Ward Huey, the owner of Diamond Billiards, Gulliver was asked by a bartender to leave just before the crash. Gulliver was reportedly bothering some of the women and “groping” them.
A husband and father, Gravel was the kitchen manager at the pool hall and had been employed for about six years. Diamond Billiards has helped to set up a GoFundMe account for his family.
As of Tuesday afternoon, over $16,000 had been donated to the account.
Anyone interested in donating can do so online at: www.gofundme.com/rongravel.
Donations can also be dropped off at Diamond Billiards.
For more information on how to donate, call Dyan Thompson at 239-218-8597.