Man Extradited and Charged for 2008 Pinellas County DUI Manslaughter
In July of 2008 a Largo, FL DUI motorcycle accident killed the motorcycle driver and caused the passenger to lose her leg. The man allegedly causing the accident was recently extradited from Illinois, according to the Tampa Tribune, and was charged with DUI-Manslaughter and DUI-Serious Bodily Injury under Florida statutes.
In criminal cases where multiple victims are alleged to have been injured, or as in this case killed, the State of Florida always has the option of charging multiple crimes. The law in Florida generally states that each crime must contain separate, specific allegations for the charges not to be duplicative. Here, although the bond in the matter was reported to $55,000, it could have potentially been higher as the prosecution could have also charged the defendant with misdemeanor DUI and misdemeanor DUI-property damage.
One of the essential elements to both the DUI-Manslaughter and the DUI-Serious Bodily Injury case is whether or not the State can show a nexus or connection between the impairment – in this case, the defendant’s BAC (Breath Alcohol Content) was reported .195, twice the legal limit-- and the death or injury. Simply put, in order to prove these charges, the State of Florida needs to show that somehow the defendant’s impairment lead to the crash.
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