Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer - DUI homicide

By Nicholas Dorsten, esq.

While DUI or "driving under the influence" gets written about quite often (see here or here for instance), this article I found in the St. Pete Times really brings home the human cost that drinking and driving may cause...

LARGO — There will be no trial for the Defendant accused of DUI manslaughter.

The 27-year-old St. Petersburg, Florida man will not get the maximum 50-year sentence for causing a crash that took two young lives. One victim's mother will never get the chance to tell a jury of the pain she's endured.

The judge's decision Monday to accept a plea agreement in the case was too much for the victim's mother, who lost her only son in the June crash the dui driver caused.

"I can't,'' she wailed and rushed from the packed courtroom after Circuit Judge Chris Helinger said she intended to allow the Defendant to plead guilty to two vehicular manslaughter charges.

For several minutes, the mother's agonized cries from the hallway accompanied the hearing that continued in a courtroom at the Criminal Justice Center.

She was not in the courtroom when Helinger formally accepted the plea and sentenced the defendant to 20 years in prison. He also pleaded guilty to driving without a valid license, driving under the influence and possession of a controlled substance. His driving privileges will be permanently revoked.

The defendant, who will turn 28 next week, was high on prescription pain medication and was traveling about 70 mph in a 45 mph construction zone when he slammed into several cars on U.S. 19 in Clearwater on June 19.

The eight-car pileup killed two people, a 22-year-old and a 23-year-old both of Odessa. Several other people were injured.

The defendant originally told investigators he was a passenger, and not the driver, of the Chevy Avalanche that caused the crash. He was arrested five days later, after the Chevy's vehicle data recorder indicated that the passenger seat was unoccupied at the time of the wreck.

At Monday's hearing, the defendant told the judge he has been depressed since the accident and has "episodes where I cry uncontrollably."

The victim's mother said the defendant had a chance at a pretrial hearing last week to apologize for killing her son.

"You could have apologized to me last week, but you didn't. You're only looking out for your best interest," she said.

She referred to his record as a habitual traffic offender and urged Helinger to give him more time "so we can have safer streets."

Like the mother, prosecutors wanted the defendant to serve more than 20 years.

But Helinger said she found the plea agreement "reasonable" and said she hoped it would offer "an early resolution" to the case.

Helinger acknowledged that the victims' families were not happy with her verdict.

"There is no amount of years which can bring back your boy," she told amother, who remained in the courtroom.

"My only hope for the families is at least you can start processing your grief."

Have you or someone you loved been charged with a DUI? Do you need the help of a St. Petersburg Criminal Defense lawyer or Clearwater DUI attorney? Then Call Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today!

For more information, or to speak directly with experienced criminal defense attorneys, please contact the law firm of BLAKE & DORSTEN, P.A. at 727.286.6141 or email your questions to: info@blakedorstenlaw.com