Bowman suffered minor injuries, while a fourth passenger, Martin Foster, was not injured, the sheriff’s office said.
The four friends are Northmont High School graduates, according to school officials and friends. Authorities said Gilhooly, a 1999 graduate, Roe and Foster, who both live in the Dayton area, were on vacation visiting Bowman.
Bowman has been charged with felony DUI manslaughter, DUI serious bodily injury and DUI, the sheriff’s office said. She is held without bond in Lee County Jail, and her trail date has been set for April 25, according to sheriff’s records.
The report said at 2:16 a.m. Bowman’s a white Pontiac failed to negotiate a right curve inside the West Bay community, spun in the road and struck a tree in the left rear passenger seat, where Gilhooly was seated.
According to the Naples Daily News, Foster told a traffic homicide detective the group was returning from a night of drinking at “a British bar” and “a club named Larry’s” when the accident occurred. He said he saw Bowman drink a rum and soda at the first bar but was unsure how much she drank that night.
A security guard at the West Bay Club told the detective she admitted the car into the community after Foster presented ID and a guest pass. The guard said she had barely raised the gate when Bowman sped into the community.
Breath tests administered to Bowman showed her blood alcohol level ranging between 0.146 and 0.138, according to sheriff’s reports. The legal limit is 0.08.
Bowman, deputies said, was disruptive with the nurses and urinated on the floor. Officers said she also showed signs of impairment. Deputies said Bowman told them she was taking medication for asthma.
Gilhooly moved to Chicago to finish his college degree after serving several years as an Air Force firefighter, said Rachael Woodie, a Northwood Elementary first-grade teacher who graduated with Gilhooly.
“He came to my first-grade class on Veterans Day this year and the kids got to ask him questions,” she said.
Northmont athletic director Robin Spiller said Gilhooly “was lanky and soft spoken. He got along with everybody. He wasn’t a troublemaker.”
The News-Press in Ft. Myers, Fla., and Naples Daily News contributed to this report.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2341 or kullmer@DaytonDailyNews.com.