Davie DUI suspect under supervision after deadly crash kills retired officer

A 74-year-old Davie driver accused of a drunken crash that killed a retired Hollywood police officer was ordered to remain under strict supervision while awaiting trial, after jail records listed charges including DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide. Joseph Anthony Ciavarella also had bond set at $100,000.

The crash happened June 11 in the 8100 block of Stirling Road, near University Drive, when the victim was trying to make a left turn into the Home Depot at University Creek Plaza, investigators said. Police said Ciavarella struck the vehicle while intoxicated and driving without headlights, turning a familiar shopping-plaza turn into a fatal collision in the middle of a busy Davie corridor.

The victim was a 55-year-old retired Hollywood police officer who had spent about 15 years with the department. A teenage child was in the vehicle and witnessed the crash, adding a traumatic layer to an already deadly scene. At Hollywood Police headquarters, where Chief Jeffrey Devlin now leads the department, the loss carried particular weight. The department’s memorial page says eight officers and one police K9 have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty since the agency was founded in 1925, a history that helps explain why the death of a retired officer reverberated far beyond one family.

Police said Ciavarella was arrested June 20, about 10 days after the crash. The pretrial order means he is not being held in jail while the case moves forward, but he is also not free from court oversight. That combination of bond and supervision is common in serious DUI manslaughter cases in Broward County, where prosecutors and judges often use pretrial conditions to monitor defendants while the criminal case develops.

For Davie and Hollywood, the case is another reminder of how quickly impaired driving can turn a short trip on Stirling Road into a felony prosecution with lasting consequences. It also puts a spotlight on the practical side of enforcement, from the roadside investigation to the court-ordered supervision that will follow Ciavarella as the case heads toward trial.