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Dade City store owner charged in fatal DUI crash involving 18-year-old: FHP

By
FOX 13 News
Sumter County
Published September 12, 2026 5:54 PM EDT
Published September 12, 2026 5:54 PM EDT
article

Courtesy: Florida Highway Patrol

The Brief

    • A convenience store owner was arrested Saturday in connection with a fatal wrong-way crash involving an 18-year-old driver in Sumter County, according to FHP.
    • Investigators say the teenager spent nearly three hours drinking at Sam’s Quick Mart before driving with a lethal blood alcohol concentration.
    • Authorities found phone records and text messages showing the store owner regularly sold alcohol to the teen at inflated prices.

DADE CITY, Fla. - A Dade City convenience store owner has been arrested and charged with negligent homicide after allegedly selling a lethal amount of alcohol to an 18-year-old who died in a head-on crash, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

Sumter County head-on crash

What we know:

FHP stated an 18-year-old named Zachary Shiloh Davis, died on April 20, 2026. Troopers said Davis' pickup truck crossed the centerline on US Highway 301, north of County Road 656, and struck another vehicle head-on at 8:46 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene. 

Reports said the driver of the second truck, a 28-year-old Webster man, survived with non-life-threatening injuries.

Toxicology reports revealed the teenager had a blood alcohol content of 0.510 g/100 mL, which investigators described as a lethal level. Location data from the victim's phone showed he spent nearly three hours inside Sam's Quick Mart on the evening of the crash before driving.

Dade City store investigation

The backstory:

Investigators spoke with Davis' family and girlfriend, who said the teenager frequently bought alcohol from store owner Sami Joseph Kasselyas.

Phone records revealed 54 calls between the teenager and Kasselyas over five months, along with text exchanges negotiating prices for cases of beer.

Authorities later inspected Sam's Quick Mart at 39010 SR-575 and found suspected marijuana in hemp containers. Cellphone records confirmed Kasselyas was present in the store during the three-hour period the teenager was drinking inside.

Store owner homicide arrest

What's next:

Troopers arrested Kasselyas on Saturday, Sept. 12, and booked him into the Sumter County Jail on a charge of homicide by culpable negligence.

Reports state that as a licensed alcohol vendor, Kasselyas should have known the excessive amount of alcohol served to the teenager would lead to severe harm or death.

The Source: The information in this story was gathered from official Florida Highway Patrol arrest reports and investigation documents prepared by responding troopers, as well as inspection records from the Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco.

Sumter County