of gross behavior. >> and upheaval in florida's legal system. the big change on the way to the death penalty and now it is decided. good evening, i'm jennifer leigh. >> i'm keith cate. the man accused of hitting an killing a high school student believes it was her fault. troopers slapped the cuffs on 56-year-old nicholas constantino and charged him with that resulted in death. chip osowski spoke with him one on one. so chip, what did he have to say? >> reporter: he had a lot to say, actually, he just kept talking. i want to show you, this is the makeshift memorial near where the accident happened. the driver me he knew he hit something. he just didn't know what it was. so he pulled over a few blocking from here to check the damage. if you can believe this, he proceeded to file an insurance claim. >> it is a tragic accident.

and the family. >> reporter: a tragic accident cut 17-year-old ashley prodomo's life short. a tragic accident nicholas believes was her fault. >> she ran into the path of my vehicle, you know what i mean? there is nothing i could have done. nothing anyone else could have done. she knead the decision to run across a busy highway in the dark. no cross section. and ... that was consequences of her dying. >> reporter: he may be right about the accident, but he was wrong leaving the scene. bryan camarino is a legal expert and defense attorney not affiliated with this case. >> we have all an obligation, if there is any sort of accident, whether it is car to car, or car to human being, we have to stop, pull over, render aid. >> do you know that you hit her? >> no. all i snow something hit my car. that is what it appears like to

cup of blocks to stop. when i stopped i didn't know what it was. i knew my window was getting cracked and that's all i could see in the dark. >> reporter: at a vigil near the scene. friends remembered the senior with so much promise and reflected on the arrest. >> i'm happy that, you know, that they got him. but, this is not going to bring my sister back. ... >> reporter: so, how did the fhp catch the driver? when he took his car in for an insurance estimate, the agent had an idea of how that severe damage got done onto that car. and he was the one who called authorities. >> wow. tragic. we will see how that story plays out as the court case drags on. chip osowski live in hillsborough county. thank you. a plant city man accused of slamming into a lakeland home and killing a woman inside

$150,000 for 24-year-old ryan talent. we are told talent was drunk behind the wheel when his truck flew off of fitzgerald road. 76-year-old janice folds died instantly inside her home when she was hit. newschannel8 spoke with a neighbor of the victim who expressed some compassion for the driver. >> i pray for that man. because, everything is against him. >> the neighbor tells us leave. but her husband held him there. talent has a long criminal history including another dui back in 2009. also, in court today, west wild hogs is the man accused of kidnapping a four-year-old polk county girl. the judge set bond at $100,000 for hogs if he posts pond, he will have to wear a gps monitor. hogs was transported back to florida from tennessee yesterday. he and little becky lewis were

parents safe and sound on wednesday. more women are now accusing donald trump of sexually assaulting them. kristin anderson told the washington post that in the 1990s , donald trump reached up her skirt at a nightclub in new york city. a former guest on the apprentice also speaking out today. trump and his campaign continue to deny all of the allegations of assault, though, with trump himself saying he is being viciously attacked. this weekend, both trump and hillary clinton are playing defense ahead of weda debate. our national correspondent mark meridith has a look at where everything stands. >> reporter: angry rhetoric, accusations, mud slinging. none of this is new in presidential politics but we have not seen the race as heated as it is now. this weekend, hillary clinton is counted on much needed star power to get out the vote. while donald trump is once again defending accusations of bad behavior. [ cheers and applause ]

ohio using the bully pulpit to make a presidential pitch. >> she is just in the arena for you fighting every single day to make sure that everybody gets a fair shake. that's what she is doing. >> reporter: mr. obama's swing through ohio couldn't come at a better time for clinton. polls have her trailing trump by one the two percent. >> reporter: meanwhile, with just over three week to go until election day, sexual misconduct. >> he grabbed my shoulder and began kissing me aggress ily and placed his hand on my breast. >> reporter: while trump continues to deny the allegations, more women keep coming forward. it could be the most obvious reason clinton's lead is growing. she has 45% support seven points ahead of trump nationally while libertarian gary johnson falls below double digits. this weekend, trump will be campaigning with stops in the northeast while clinton is going to be taking some time

debate. that is set to happen wednesday night in sin city, las vegas, nevada. that's a quick look at where things stand in the race for the white house, in washington. i'm mark meridith, newschannel8. and, a reminder, newschannel8 will be at that debate bringing you all of the highlights of that interesting evening. and, if this election has you pulling your hair out, you are not alone. 52% of people surveyed by the american psychological association described the presidential election as a significant source of and it does not matter whether you identify as a republican or a democrat. stress levels are virtually the same. new tonight, a big change for the death penalty in florida. the state supreme court ruled today that the death penalty requires a unanimous injury rather than ten out of 12 jurors. as capital bureau reporter mike vasilinda shows us, that was not the only decision today affecting florida's death row. >> reporter: 12 jurors found

coworker stabbing, but only seven of them voted for death which the judge imposed. they used the supreme court to throw out the sentencing scheme saying the j jury, not the judge, had the final say. then they enacted a 10-2 requirement this spring. now, the florida supreme court says the hurst decision demands a unanimous jury. >> so they threw out the new florida statute that had allowed the death penalty 10-2 margin. and said going forward, we are going to have to have unanimous verdicts in florida. >> reporter: nancy daniels was hurst's public defender and he will now get a new sentencing hearing. >> it's about time. >> reporter: mark has been working almost a decade to require a unanimous jury when death is on the table. >> why is it important? >> it goes right to the core of our system. >> reporter: the court was

it refused. but, it left unanswered what happens with the other 384 people who woke up on death row friday morning? during the legislative session, prosecutors objected to requiring unanimous jury verdicts saying no two people should be allowed to pose their will on the majority. the supreme court disagrees. in tallahassee, mike vasilinda, newschannel8. lawmakers meet again two weeks after next month's election. they could confirm or overturn the court decision morning spawned a rare tornado in oregon. the twister touched down near the coastal town of manzanita. the woman hoboken took the video was about a mile away but even that was too close for comfort. and at least two businesses are destroyed. a house, badly damaged. strong storms are expected to bring more flooding and possible landslides this weekend. and, people in north

record flooding a week after hurricane matthew battered that state. the tar river in greenville is already 12 feet above flood stage and is expected to crest at 25 feet today. small towns downstream will experience more flooding this weekend. this storm is now blamed for 24 deaths in north carolina alone. one of the busiest intersections in the bay area is also one of the most dangerous. >> but that could soon change. 8 on your side takes a look at the plan to protect pedestrians and bicyclists in pinellas a cage and is caught on camera. let me show you what happened to the diver inside. >> and, it has been mostly dry so far this week. but, will that continue as we head into the weekend? we'll have a full look at your weekend forecast coming up. >> we'll have that and more coming up. you're watching newschannel8.

how tall are you? how do we measure greatness in america? the height of our skyscrapers? the size of our bank accounts? no. it's measured by what we do for our children. ing for kids and families and it will be my mission to build a country where our children can rise as high as their dreams and hard work take them. that means good schools for every child in every zip code. college that leads to opportunities... not debt. and an economy where every young american can find a job that lets them start a family of their own.

working together. respecting one another. and never giving up. i want our success to be measured by theirs.

>> a questionable connection. e-mails obtained by 8 on your side show a very close relationship between cab companies and the head of an agency designed to regulate them. the e-mail show the head of the public transportation commission used cab drivers in sting operations to ticket drivers for uber helped the head of the ptc plan a trip to south florida to speak out against ride sharing companies. coming up tonight at 6:00, we will hear from a state senator who believes the e-mails will clearly show collusion. one of the busiest intersections of the bay area is about to get a lot safer. preproduction plans for an overpass are in the works for gulf to bay boulevards.

lot of stress. >> reporter: all the pedestrian crashes. people have used this trail say it would make them feel a lot better. at 66, patricia hoffman stays active. she uses the trail to bike and run. but she won't go past bay shore boulevard. because the path goes in crossing to the other side is a nightmare. >> the reason i don't come from fu >> she has been hit before. >> i have been in accidents where i have been knocked off my bicycle. so, i don't want that anymore. so, an overpass would be ideal for me. and many other people. >> reporter: the city of clearwater agrees. they were awarded $1.1 million for the florida department of transportation to create an overpass on gulf to bay in bay shore boulevards. >> you know how busy that

and bicycles have to do is push the button. cross the road after the signal stops the vehicles and it takes them, it only allows them about 36 seconds to get across. >> reporter: with the most recent pedestrian crash that killed a high school teen in tampa, people here are concerned about their safety. >> you have people who don't belong on the road. >> you have a light, like a pedestrian walk that you can press. they still don't always stop. >> we could ride. we could get away from the cars. the cars wouldn't get as annoyed with i know it costs money and everything. but, it is going to save a life. >> reporter: now, this overpass is a part of a bigger project to connect the trails here in pinellas county. and now, that the city of clearwater has this money, the engineers they will start to get to work on a design. keith? >> all right. jamel lanee live in clearwater, thank you. a video showing a very close encounter with a great

mexico is going viral. check this out. the shark is seen leaping out of the water to eat a large chunk of tuna bait tied to a rope. but then it breaches the side of the cage. it thrashes around before freeing its through the top. fortunately, the diver inside that cage escaped through the bottom. you can see him emerge unscathed but from his gestures, i'm guessing his heart is pounding. now, max de world's most powerful radar and your storm team 8 forecast with meteorologist julie phillips. >> probably had a little bit of a closer encounter with the shark than he had originally planned. max defender 8 showing you this afternoon what we were dealing with yesterday. quiet conditions. no rain on the radar this evening. and, it is going to stay mostly dry for the rest of tonight. a great view from innisbrook in

nice breeze, a flag blowing in the wind. light breeze in the forecast for the rest of this evening and going to be a great night for football tonight. if you are headed out to any of the area games at kickoff, we are going to keep a small 10% chance of a quick passing shower around. haven't seen it on the radar just yet, but not out of the realm of possibilities. by halftime. pretty quiet. temperatures will be dropping into the upper 70s . and a nice night. so by the final play, temperature will be back into the mid 70s and when you wake up tomorrow morning. we will start off the weekend, a little bit on a warm note. we are in the low 70s to begin the day. we will top out in the upper 80s as we head into the afternoon hours. and, that is where we have been today. you can see temperatures are still sitting in the mid to upper 80s right now. it is 88 in venice. 85 in bartow. 86 in brooksville. we are sitting at 84 in clearwater. and 85 right now, in crystal river. dew points, they are mid to upper 60s . so, we are starting

range. but at this point, it is not too bad outside. not the summertime level of humidity. but the dew points have definitely risen a little bit since the start of this week. but the area is still drying up. but we are not seeing a lot of showers around. you can see in the upper levels, the bright red has been limiting any rain from developing the past couple of days so it will stay pretty quiet for the rest of tonight. our forecast model will show you that as well. the northeasterly flow. we are still seeing. so a nice light ze for tonight. and then when you wake up tomorrow morning, a nice start to your weekend. a few clouds around. but it is already warm. we are in the low 70s and by the afternoon hours, this is when we start to see a few changes this weekend. slightly deeper moisture rolls in and we are looking at a few more showers. maybe a couple of storms. rain chances not big. there at only 20%. but it is still a little bit more likely you will see rain at your house. sunday morning.

afternoon hours with a 20% chance of showers an storms returning. so, temperatures definitely warm enough to make it a beach weekend. keep in mind, red tide is still an issue for parts of the tampa bay area. from pinellas county all the way through soar toe sarasota county. we have reports of red tide coming in. venice beach, coquina beach, siesta key. it has been pretty bad the past week or so. this ek rain chance is holding steady and dropping back a bit next week. out in the tropics, the only thing we are tracking at this point is hurricane nicole. not going to impact the u.s. except maybe a higher surf across parts of the coast. but this is staying well offshore. right now, it is barely a category 5 storm as it moves to the northeast at 20 miles an hour. so, for us, temperatures pretty warm again tomorrow. back up into the upper 80s .

consistent through next week until we head into the end of next week. and we are still looking at the possibility of seeing a nice cold front roll through. possibly thursday or friday. but not sure in the exact timing yet. but behind it, potentially, some real fall like weather. so we look forward to that. back into the 60s in the mornings. >> that is real fall for florida. >> it is amazing. >> thank you julie. well, our friday night blitz game of the week is an epic matchup between scoring undefeated teams. >> we go live to anthony allred in venice. he talk to the coach of the brayden river pirates. what if one of the biggest challenges we face down here... could be solved... simply by looking up there? what if unlimited, clean power was at your fingertips? what if it was good for consumers,

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>> just a quick reminder, the heart walk is coming up. we are working hard to reach our goal of reaching $100,000. we need your help. go to wfla.com/heartwalk to join stacie's team first $50,000 we raise. the walk itself is november 12

>> we are getting fired up for the friday night blitz. tonight's game of the week matchup is between two of the best teams in the state. in paul has the undefeated brayden river pirates ranked second and the undefeated venice indians ranked fifth. anthony allred is live at venice high right now. so ... >> reporter: that's right keith and jen. do you guys remember that public enemy song don't believe the hype? tonight you better believe it. both teams have high powered offense.

scored 100 points tonight. i talked to the coach and here is what he had to say about the game tonight. >> this is a big game. you know. fortunately, we are coming off a bye week, a chance to get some guys rested up and healthy in some spots. got a nice break in the weather so practice has been great. you know, we have had a lot of enthusiasm out there. it will be a good game. a hostile environment. we are ready to go. this is a big road game. in the past couple of years, northeast of been at home. we will take this show on the road. you have a shut-out. everything else and the environment. you know. whether it be the crowd noise or the venue. and just understand the field is the same size as ours and you know, nothing changes in between the white lines. we protect the football on offense. then on defense, we have to, you know, make sure we don't give up the big play. bend but don't break. venice is a great offense. and they are very stout on defense as well.

and ready to go. >> reporter: now, to win, you know, brayden river, they have to stop venice from scoring 50 points. that is what they are averaging. i'll have more on the venice indians coming up 5:30. >> thank you anthony allred live in venice. well, anthony, dan, and paul ryan will return tonight at 11:15 for all of your friday night blitz highlights. talk about something we are looking fod and here is a look at what we are working on for 5:30 tonight. >> guests left in the lurch after they were forced to leave lego land. how the park is making it up to them. >> and a change in your handwriting could mean your ballot won't count in the 2016 election. the way a lawsuit going on right now could change a very

>> right now on newschannel8 at 5:30. >> business as usual at lego land today after a bomb threat. 8 on your side wants to know how the park is helping customers who had their visit cut short. good evening, i'm keith cate. >> and i'm jennifer leigh. thank you for exactly what the threat was that shut down the winter haven park. police are interviewing everyone at lego land to find out what happened. as newschannel8's rod carter shows us, the park's closing was nothing that had to be done. >> reporter: good evening, lego land is back open after a bomb threat closed it down yesterday and the hotel as well. it was a disruptive process. everyone looks for excitement at a theme park.