Broward DUI Lawyer Blog

Former major league baseball star Jim Leyritz has agreed to a $350,000 settlement in connection with a 2007 Fort Lauderdale drunk driving accident, according to a report from the UPI news service.

Leyritz is expected to stand trial for DUI manslaughter in Fort Lauderdale later this year. The former New York Yankee is charged with an accident that killed a 30-year-old Plantation, Florida woman on Dec. 28, 2007.

Under the agreement, his insurance company will pay $250,000 to the victim's husband and two children and he will pay the family 100,000 in monthly installments. The payments will be made in 100 installments of $1,000 beginning April 15, 2011. Most of the money will go into a restricted trust account for the victim's children a 15-year-old daughter and a 7-year-old son.

Leyritz was celebrating his 44th birthday when he allegedly ran a red light and crashed his SUV into the victim's car.

She was leaving her job as a bartender in Fort Lauderdale and blood-alcohol tests later indicated that both were driving drunk at the time of the 3:20 a.m. accident, according to the Miami Herald.

Continue reading "Former Yankee star agrees to settlement in alleged Fort Lauderdale drunk driving accident" »

The founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach has been charged with vehicular homicide and DUI manlaughter, the Miami Herald reported.

John Goodman, 46, was arrested following an investigation into a Feb. 12 car accident, in which a 23-year-old motorist was broadsided, pushing his car into a canal where he drowned. Goodman, a Houston millionaire, was taken into custody at the Four Seasons in downtown Miami. He was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail and appeared in court, where he posted a $100,000 bond and was released.

Police allege Goodman ran a stop sign and collided with the victim's vehicle. Under the conditions of his release, he cannot drink alcohol, driver or leave Palm Beach County and must submit to drug and alcohol testing three times a month. He also must report to authorities twice a week.

He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted. Goodman was also charged with failure to render aid, which enhances the potential penalties under Florida Law, according to the Houston Chronicle. The paper reported Goodman inherited a fortune after selling the air-conditioning company founded by his father.

Court records indicate Goodman's blood-alcohol level was .177, more than twice the legal limit of .08 for drunk driving in Florida.

In a wrongful death lawsuit, the family claims the victim might have been saved had Goodman not fled the scene to call friends and lawyers.

A court affidavit said he had spent the evening at a charity fundraiser and had continued driving at the bar. The Players Club Bar and Restaurant and an alcohol vendor are also named in the lawsuit

Continue reading "Polo club founder faces DUI manslaughter charges, wrongful death lawsuit after Palm Beach drunk driving accident" »

A Naples teenager was sentenced to 6-9 months in a non-violent juvenile treatment program after being convicted of DUI manslaughter in the wake of a fatal drunk driving accident in Estero, which claimed the life of a 16-year-old friend.

While the victim's family told The News-Press of Fort Myers that they believed the girl should have received a stiffer punishment, this case illustrates the challenges of dealing with teenagers involved in serous or fatal drunk driving accidents.

As tragic as the mistake, it's hard to argue that a long prison sentence would be appropriate for a 16-year-old girl. Additionally, the area where the accident occurred reportedly involves a set of railroad tracks and a steep roadway, which has drawn teenagers to the area to jump the tracks -- causing serious and fatal accidents both before and since this case occurred.

Let's fix defective roads and talk to our kids about the dangers of drunk driving and other poor choices behind the wheel. Traffic fatalities are the leading cause of death among teenagers, ages 15 to 20, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In 2008, a total of 5,864 teenagers were killed in traffic crashes and more than 228,000 were injured. In Florida, 516 teens were killed.

The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice recommended to the judge that the girl be sent to a program for teens who commit non-violent crimes. Case law would only have permitted the judge to deviate from the recommendation in exceptional circumstances, which were not present in this case.

The teen's driver's license was also suspended for life.

Police report she was traveling 70 mph in a 30 mph zone when she lost control of her SUV, which flipped over and slammed into a group of pine trees at the side of the road. Her blood-alcohol level tested at .165, more than twice the legal limit of .08 in Florida. The 16-year-old passenger was ejected and pronounced dead two days later at Lee Memorial Hospital.

As school lets out for the year, talk to your teenagers about making good choices behind the wheel and staying safe through the long, hot South-Florida summer.

A 30-year-old man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, after being sentenced to 40 years behind bars for a Palm Beach drunk driving accident that killed a bride-to-be and a bridesmaid, the Palm Beach Post reported.

As we reported last week on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog, drunk driving accidents are often tragic cases for all involved. Most will be unsympathetic and certainly this accident was a tragedy for the victims and their families. But, setting aside the circumstances of this particular case, the fact remains that motorists who are charged with DUI are frequently found at-fault in the accident, even when a thorough review of the facts might not substantiate such findings.

Hiring an experienced Palm Beach DUI accident attorney is critical to fighting for your future; this is the second time in less than a week that a defendant has been sentenced to decades behind bars as the result of a DUI accident in the Palm Beach area.

Defending against charges stemming from a serious or fatal drunk driving accident requires an aggressive and experienced DUI attorney. In many cases, the charges will not hold if the DUI is not proven. Conversely, even if a client is convicted of a DUI, but an independent investigation shows he or she was not at fault in the accident, a reduction in charges or dismissal of the case is possible.

In this case, the defendant was sentenced to 15 years each for two counts of DUI manslaughter as well as five years each for two counts of DUI causing serious bodily injury.

The 23-year-old women were killed when the defendant struck their vehicle at the intersection of West Palmetto Park Road and I-95 on Oct. 20, 2006. A blood test showed he had a blood-alcohol level of .12, above the state limit of .08. The Post reported he had been arrested and charged with DUI once before.

A 52-year-old woman has been arrested on charges of drunk driving in Delray Beach and fleeing police after authorities allege she abandoned a toddler she was babysitting so she could go drinking with friends, the Sun-Sentinel reported.

As we reported earlier this month on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog, woman are frequently targeted with additional charges -- including child endangerment -- in South Florida DUI cases involving children. A Fort Lauderdale drunk driving defense attorney should be contact to help protect the rights of mothers facing DUI charges.

A recent report by the Associated Press found the number of women arrested for DUI has increased 30 percent over the last decade, even as the number of men arrested has decreased by 7 percent. Evidence that more men have lost their jobs during the economic downturn -- placing even more economic pressure on women, who are typically the primary caregivers in a household -- is likely to exacerbate the problem.

In this case, police say the woman left a roommate's 2-year-old grandson asleep in the apartment while she went for drinks with friends in Boynton Beach. Boynton Beach police claim she failed to stop for a stop sign on Northeast 15th Avenue about 11:30 p.m.

Police say she disobeyed orders to stop and officers were waiting for her at her apartment. She refused a sobriety test and was arrested, Delray Beach police reported. The child was unharmed. The woman disputes the report, saying she took the restless child for a ride after having two glasses of wine. She said the child was never left unattended and that she was fine to drive, according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Records indicate she has two previous convictions for DUI and her license is currently under suspension. Police report they also plan to charge her with child neglect after presenting the case to prosecutors.

We urge anyone charged with drunk driving in Miami to hire an aggressive and experienced South Florida DUI defense attorney to fight the charge. But for South Florida's Cuban and Hispanic population, being convicted of DUI can be especially devastating.

The home of Rene Antonio Rodriguez, 48, was raided by U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, which had a warrant for his removal because of a criminal record. The Miami Herald reported the father and husband was lying in bed recovering from a work injury that has left him blind.

Rodriguez's wife alleges ICE officers told her she had no right to be in the country and barged into her home without consent, where they insulted her and placed her in handcuffs. The raid took place in front of the couple's 16-year-old son.

The raid was part of a nationwide sweep. ICE says one of the agency's priorities is to protect public safety by identifying fugitives and people convicted of murder, rape, kidnapping, robbery and major drug offenses.

Rodriquez has an old criminal conviction for resisting arrest without violence and DUI.

Frequently an aggressive and experienced Miami DUI lawyer can fight a drunk driving charge. A reduction or dismissal of the charges in this case may have kept Rodriguez from ever coming to the attention of immigration authorities.

Continue reading "DUI conviction puts Miami immigrant on list targeted by ICE agents" »

An aspiring Miami songwriter will not be tuning into Kristie Alley's new A&E reality show "Kristie Alley's Big Life," despite the fact that he wrote the show's theme song "Picture Perfect."

Carlos Bertonatti is in Dade County Jail, where he awaits trial this fall on DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges, according to the Miami New Times. Bertonatti is charged in connection with a Miami drunk driving accident that killed a 44-year-old cyclist on the Rickenbacker Causeway. The New Times reported that Bertonatti sped away from the scene with the bicycle wedged beneath his Volkswagen.

The Times theorizes that Bertonatti was set to perform the song for the show -- the paper found an Internet video of him singing to Alley during a June fundraiser -- until the drunk driving accident. His song made the show -- someone else is singing it while he sits in jail.

Bertonatti's DUI defense lawyer said he does not know whether his client received payment for the song, but noted any income will now likely go to the victim's family to pay restitution.

Continue reading "Miami songwriter faces DUI manslaughter charges for death of bicyclist in drunk driving accident" »

A Palm Coast woman has been sentenced to almost two decades in prison after a fatal Florida DUI accident on I-95 in St. John's County, the Florida Times-Union reported.

DUI accidents in Fort Lauderdale or elsewhere in Florida are often tragic cases. Certainly, the victim's family is devastated and a defendant's life can be forever altered. Hiring a veteran Broward County DUI lawyer is critical when charged with drunk driving in the wake of a serious or fatal accident. Upwards of half of all fatal accidents in Florida involve a drunk driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

In this case, the 44-year-old defendant changed her plea as she was about to stand trial in St. Augustine in connection with the accident, caused by driving the wrong way on I-95. Prosecutors said she had a blood-alcohol level of .33, more than four times the legal limit of .08 in Florida. Police say she drove into oncoming traffic last April near the Flagler County Line, and crashed into a car driven by a 34-year-old Palm Coast man. His 42-year-old passenger was killed after being ejected from the vehicle.

The woman pleaded no contest to drunken-driving manslaughter, drunken driving with serious bodily injury and driving with a suspended license, as well as three counts of drunken driving with property damage. The state reports her license had been suspended for a previous drunk driving conviction.

She was sentenced to 18 years in prison.

It is the latest in a string of fatal accidents in Florida, where drunk driving was either determined or alleged to be a factor:

-A North Fort Myers man is facing two counts of DUI vehicular manslaughter after an accident earlier this year on the East Coast, NBC 2 reported. As we reported on our Broward DUI Lawyer Blog, the accident claimed the lives of two elderly nuns who taught at a Catholic grade school in Cape Coral.

-Also in the Fort Myers area, a young woman was sentenced to 25 years in prison in February, for a 2007 accident that claimed the life of an Iraq war veteran and critically injured his wife. The couple had been driving home to South Florida to visit family for Christmas when the defendant slammed into them just blocks from home.

Continue reading "Florida vehicular manslaughter charges, DUI accidents, require veteran defense attorney" »

Robert Ray Huizenga, 48, son of former Maimi Dolphins owner Wayne Huizenga, was sentenced to two years in prison after being charged with driving a boat while drunk in Fort Lauderdale, the Miami Herald reported.

With boating season entering into full swing, it is important to remember that the drunk driving rules that apply to cars also apply to boats and other watercraft. Hiring a Fort Lauderdale DUI attorney can help protect your rights to drive on land, as well as on the water.

A Broward judge sentenced Ray Huizenga to two years in prison for violating his probation as a result of the DUI boating charge. Ray Huizenga was convicted in 2006 of a 2003 drunk driving accident that left a pedestrian with a concussion, a bashed head and a broken elbow, the Herald reported. He was sentenced to one year of house arrest, four years of probation and 120 days in the county jail.

He was still on probation when he was charged with drunken boating in July. He has not been convicted of the drunken boating charge, which is scheduled for an upcoming trial. NBC Miami reports Ray Huizenga already has three DUI convictions on his record. A fourth conviction could result in up to 5 years in prison.

NBC reports that the drunken boating arrest came after a Fort Lauderdale woman called to say burglars were attempting to break into her home. Officers reportedly found Ray Huizenga slurring his words and smelling of alcohol behind the wheel of an idling fishing boat. He refused to submit to an alcohol test and was arrested.

Continue reading "Son of former Dolphins owner gets 2 years in prison in wake of Lauderdale DUI boating incident" »

The governor is expected to sign a bill passed by Florida lawmakers that will permit drivers convicted of four DUIs to get their license back, Channel 10 reported.

The measure was supported by the family of a man convicted of four DUIs; the family hired a Tallahassee lobbyist to push for the change in law. Current Florida law calls for a permanent revocation of a driver's license for a fourth drunk driving conviction. Hiring a Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer is vital to protecting your rights in the wake of a drunk driving charge in South Florida. While nobody plans on a first or repeat offense, keeping a drunk driving conviction off your record is vital to protecting your right to drive, your job, your driving rights and independence and even your financial well-being.

Capitol watchers say the measure is almost sure to be signed into law because it was inserted into a critical transportation bill that the governor will almost certainly sign. Mothers Against Drunk Driving is in favor of the measure, saying regulating habitual offenders with ignition-interlocks and other devices is preferable to having them fall off the radar and drive without a license.

MADD points to estimates that have found about half of the 30,000 Floridians with four or more convictions drive anyway.

Continue reading "Proposed change in law could make four-time Florida DUI offenders eligible for driver's license reinstatement" »

Traffic fatalities are down in Florida, even as the number of DUI arrests continues to rise, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. Broward County had one of the lowest conviction rates in the state. Meanwhile, the number of motorists convicted of drunk driving in Palm Beach County has nearly doubled in the last two years, the highest increase of any county in Florida.

Law enforcement made more than 175 arrests a day for DUI in 2008. Statistics for 2009 are due out in coming week. But of the 64,654 drunk driving arrests, only about half (38,664) were found guilty of the charge.

A Fort Lauderdale DUI lawyer should be contacted to represent anyone charged with DUI; hiring an experienced attorney is particularly critical if you are charged with DUI as a result of an injury accident in Broward County or elsewhere in Southeast Florida.

Broward County had the lowest conviction rate in Southeast Florida; only about one-third of drivers charged with DUI were found guilty.

Authorities made 603,573 arrests for criminal traffic violations in Florida in 2008, including 64,654 arrests for DUI. Other criminal traffic arrests include reckless driving (9,397) and leaving the scene of an accident (18,828).

Miami-Dade County recorded the most DUI arrests, with 4,886. Of those, 2,354 were found guilty. DUI convictions in Miami increased from 1,824 in 2006 to 2,354 in 2008.

Broward County authorities charged 5,522 motorists with DUI, however only 1,807 were found guilty. DUI convictions in Broward increased from 1,606 in 2006 to 1,807 in 2008.

Palm Beach County recorded 3,072 arrests with 1,562 motorists found guilty. DUI convictions in Palm Beach County nearly doubled, from 810 in 2006 to 1,562 in 2008.

Continue reading "Less than 1 in 3 Broward residents convicted of DUI; increase in Palm Beach DUI arrests leads state " »

A Boca Raton woman is in jail after police say she was found passed out behind the wheel, with a pipe in her mouth and her 2-year-old son in the back seat, the Bellingham Herald reported.

The presence of aggravating factors, such as drugs, a car accident, or the presence of children, can complicate any DUI case and is best handled by an experienced Florida DUI attorney. Often, treatment options may be available in lieu of time in jail.

In this case, the 24-year-old woman faces numerous charges, including child neglect, DUI and possession of narcotics, according to Boynton Beach Police. Authorities report finding the woman hunched over the steering wheel of a blue Honda pickup truck, near midnight Thursday in the parking lot of Boca Tanning on West Gateway Boulevard.

An officer reports seeing the toddler in a rear seat and tapping on the window several times in an attempt to wake the defendant up. She reportedly told police she was smoking Roxycodone, a prescription pain killer. A search of the vehicle found 13 Xanex, four Roxycodone pills and an Oxycodone pill, as well as a glass pipe with traces of marijuana inside.

The Associated Press reported last fall that an increase in drunk driving allegations among women has also increased the number of child-endangering cases against mothers.

Nationwide, 29 percent more women were arrested for DUI in 2007 than in 1998, while men accounted for more than 7 percent fewer cases.