South Florida Woman Charged with DUI Manslaughter and Vehicular Homicide
Our Palm Beach and Broward County DUI defense lawyers have learned that a Miami woman will face charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in the 2014 death of a motorcyclist.
According to reports, the 22-year-old woman was driving the wrong way on I-95 in Ft. Lauderdale back in July, when she struck and killed a man, age 42. At the time of the accident, she was under the influence of alcohol. When her blood was tested three hours after the crash, it was revealed that the woman had a BAC level of 0.189, well over double the legal limit.
As we know from experience as former prosecutors and now as tested criminal defense lawyers, DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges can yield serious consequences, and someone facing such charges needs to hire an experienced criminal defense team in order to mount a viable legal defense.
According to court records, on January 22nd, the defendant will be arraigned in a Miami-Dade court on charges of DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide, as well as DUI with property damage and injury. The accident occurred when the woman was traveling north in one of the southbound lanes of I-95. In her Acura, she narrowly missed hitting a pickup truck that was able to swerve out of the way; unfortunately, behind the pickup truck was the motorcyclist, who was unable to get out of the way. He died instantly when the defendant struck him.
In December of 2014, as our Palm Beach and Broward County DUI defense lawyers know, the defendant was charged and posted $30,000 bond. The charges that the woman faces include possible punishments (upon conviction) of more than a decade in prison (with a minimum mandatory of at least 4 years) and fines of up to tens of thousands of dollars, not to mention court fees, probationary periods, and a lifetime license revocation.
These are serious consequences, especially considering the fact that DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide in this case simply occurred due to one wrong decision that the woman made — to get behind the wheel of a car after having too much to drink. This bad decision led to undeniably this terrible outcome and loss of life. There is absolutely no reason to believe that the woman had an ill will toward the driver; she didn’t know him, and her dangerous driving was the result of her intoxication.
Our criminal defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Leifert & Leifert are all former prosecutors. We used to handle these types of cases; we used to charge people with these crimes and we were successful in doing so. As such, now that we are DUI defense lawyers, we know the strategies necessary to fight the charges in a court of law.
If you have been arrested for a crime such as DUI manslaughter or vehicular homicide, or any related crime, in Palm Beach, Broward or Miami-Dade County, please contact our experienced DUI defense lawyers at the Law Offices of Leifert & Leifert by calling 1-888-5-DEFEND (1-888-533-3363). We look forward to assisting you.