Longboat Key Officer Not At Fault In Crash That Killed Couple

LONGBOAT KEY, FL — A traffic investigation has concluded that a Longboat Key police officer was not at fault for a Dec. 18 crash that took the lives of a 91-year-old man and his 83-year-old wife.

"The crash investigation concluded that a marked patrol vehicle from the town of the Longboat Key Police Department, driven by a Longboat Key police officer Jeffrey Vogt, was traveling south in the 2100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive when the marked patrol car collided with a Tesla," Genevieve Judge of the Sarasota Police Department said.

Sarasota police investigate all serious crashes in Longboat Key under a memorandum of understanding between the two communities.

"Vogt applied his brakes and attempted to steer his patrol car to avoid the crash," Judge said Thursday. The crash occurred shortly before 6 p.m. in the 2100 block of Gulf of Mexico Drive near the En Province Condominiums.

Charles Barancik of Longboat Key was pronounced dead on the scene and his wife Margery died the next day at Sarasota Memorial Hospital. The officer was also taken to Sarasota Memorial Hospital where he was treated and released.

Vogt had activated his emergency lights but not his siren as he drove to a report of a fire. He was traveling about 55 mph when he struck the couple's blue Tesla on the two-lane highway. The officer told investigators the last thing he remembered was the couple pulling out in front of him.

The investigation determined the view of both drivers had been obstructed by construction equipment on the north side of the intersection prior to the crash.

"The crash investigation showed Charles was at fault for violating the right of way of the patrol car," Judge said.