The Palm Beach Post reports that a Lake Worth man is sitting in jail on a $1 million bond after he allegedly caused a DUI accident at a West Palm Beach club.
Vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter are similar charges, with the major difference being that in DUI manslaughter in West Palm Beach, the prosecution must prove that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the crash, which can be shown either by a blood alcohol level of 0.08 or higher or by proving the person's "normal faculties" were impaired.
The difficult thing here is that in Florida, prosecutors are able to bring both charges in cases where one person dies. This allows them to present evidence that the defendant either caused the crash that resulted in the death through reckless driving or that it was the influence of alcohol that led to the crash.
Essentially, in the opinion of most West Palm Beach criminal defense attorneys, the state gets two bites of the apple. The are allowed to present two theories of facts against the defendant, who is stuck defending both, although a person can't be convicted of both counts if one person dies.
If the state isn't able to show the defendant was legally under the influence of alcohol or drugs through breath testing, field sobriety tests, blood tests or other means, they can always fall back on the idea that the driver operating a vehicle recklessly, which caused the accident.
In this case, the newspaper reports, a Lake Worth man driving into the parking lot of a West Palm Beach club allegedly pinned another man under a car, killing him. The 26-year-old driver now faces charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, two counts of DUI causing personal injury and four counts of DUI causing property damage. The man also faces a charge of causing a death while driving without a license.
Three men were standing in the parking lot of the club when the vehicle approached them. The vehicle struck all three men -- cabbies -- as well as the car in front of which they were standing. The vehicle then struck two other parked vehicles and allegedly pinned another man beneath it as it came to a rest.
The article states that deputies believe either drugs or alcohol were a factor, though the article doesn't explain how detectives came to this conclusion. It's unclear if breath testing or field sobriety tests were conducted at the scene.
In many cases, however, an accident is just that, an accident. Law enforcement often tries to make a simple mistake into a criminal offense and sometimes a West Palm Beach DUI defense attorney must be called to show a jury that's what really happened.
These charges should be defended aggressively, especially given the extensive penalties that death-by-vehicle cases can lead to. Juries must be informed to take all facts into consideration, not just the ones put out by police in the initial report.
If you, a family member or other loved one is arrested and charged with a crime in West Palm Beach, Fort Lauderdale or Miami, contact Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Lawyers today at 1-866-727-5384 to discuss your rights.
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University of Miami Student, 19, Charged With DUI Manslaughter: November 3, 2011
