DUI Manslaughter charge against Driver in Rollover Crash with Fatalities

Yesterday, an SUV was overturned while the driver was in intoxicated. One passenger was killed while the rest were injured. One man is still being looking for after the incident.

At around 11 p.m., Eduardo Mora Mata, 30, of Lake Wales was driving north on State Road 25 in Frostproof when he went off the road. The 1996 blue GMC rolled over several times after crossing the median. When the truck finally stopped, it was in flames and everyone inside was badly injured.

One of the passengers, Oliver Martinez Garcia, 22, of Lake Wales was thrown from the car as it was flipping. He was pronounced dead on the scene of the accident from the injuries sustained from hitting the pavement when he landed.

After the car was stationary, Mata and Manuel Santiz ran to the safety of the woods to evade the scene and avoid getting arrested.

As the two were running, Evodio Gallardo Garcia, 32, pulled Noe Garcia from the vehicle and to safety. Currently, Garcia is being watches in Lakeland Regional Medical Center where he is listed in critical condition. If he passes, it could add to the charges against Mata.

While police were in pursuit a man meeting the description of Santiz was seen getting into another truck and fled the scene. His whereabouts are unknown at this time, but he is wanted for fleeing the scene of an accident.

Mata was arrested and taken to Tampa General Hospital, They are tending to his wounds sustained in the accident.

Mata is charged with leaving the scene of an accident involving death, leaving the scene of an accident involving bodily injury and operating a motor vehicle with no valid driver’s license involving death. NO mention was made of a DUI charge.

DUI manslaughter Charge for Old Town Woman

Charges were recently brought against a woman for an accident which occurred in Old Town. The charges stemmed from an accident which took place on June 6 around 8pm.

The accident as reported involved Imogene Swafford, 50, who was driving her 2002 Hyundai Sonata north on U.S. 19. There is no indication of whether she was speeding or not. Also not clear is what caused her to run into a motorcycle which was riding in front of her.  This is all according to the report which was filed by Florida Highway Patrolman Cpl. W. Dill as he was the officer on the scene at the time of the arrest.

On the motorcycle, a 2008 Harley Davidson, was Marvin Hancock, 58. When the incident occurred, it appears that Hancock’s motorcycle was pushed more than 300 feet when Swafford struck it from behind. As a result of the incident, Hancock was ejected from the motorcycle. The motorcycle then traveled another 600 feet before coming to a stop.

The injuries to Hancock were so severe that he was immediately hospitalized to care for his injuries. Unfortunately, there was nothing which could be done to save him and he later died as a result. Swafford was already under arrest for the incident at the time that the death occurred. The death was announced just a few hours after the incident occurred. Swafford is indicated as the culprit in causing the death of Hancock because of her accident which stemmed from driving under the influence.

The recent addition of the DUI manslaughter charges were added to charges already pending for 2 counts of DUI causing property damage. Swafford is being held on $100,000 bond at the Levi County Jail. Her court date has been set, but has not been announced at this time.

Drunk Driver Blames Breasts for Bad Driving

A woman in Florida was pulled over after driving recklessly. When asked to perform simple DUI tests to confirm sobriety, she denied saying that her “big boobies” would prevent her from doing it.

Marueen Raymond, 49, was arrested as a result of the way that she was driving her grey Toyota Camry. Witnesses reported Raymond as driving at speeds greater than 50 in a 35 mile per hour zone. After swerving through traffic, she parked her car over the line as she was going into the Walgreen’s parking lot.

When police arrived on the scene, they found Raymond in the driver’s seat and smelling of alcohol. Believing that alcohol was to blame for the reckless driving which was reported, officers asked her to perform some roadside sobriety tests.

Raymond, who was slurring her speech, denied that she would be able to pass any of the tests because of her large bosom. Police asked her to step out of the car regardless. Raymond went on to explain how difficult it is to drive whenever you have such large breasts, but the police were not having it.

They asked her to walk a straight line to which Raymond replied that with ‘big breasts you don’t balance well.’ She had the same reply for when asked to simply hold her hands out straight to either side of her body.

In an attempt to show the officers what she meant, Raymond, tried to undress and show her breasts to officers on the scene.

Raymond was eventually arrested on DUI and reckless driving charges. She was formally charged at the station and released the next day on bond. She is currently awaiting trial to face her charges in court where it is likely the judge will not believe her “big boobie” story either.

Judge Sentenced in DUI Case

What originally appeared to be the beginnings of a long trial; ended abruptly with a plea deal in which a judge was sentenced in a DUI case brought against her yesterday.

Kathryn Nelson, 52, was charged after driving into a guard rail and crashing her car. The authorities were alerted to her driving due to a concerned citizen calling in that they had witnessed a car swerving and then striking the guard rail.

When officers arrived on the scene, Nelson became combative and refused to get out of the car to submit to a DUI field test. The police officer had no choice but to arrest her on drunk driving charges as well as resisting arrest.

Nelson claims that she did not have enough to impair her ability to drive stating that she had only had two glasses of wine to drink. She further blamed the incident on the use of a cell phone and her being distraught at family matters that are enduring.

The court case ended up in a plea deal which wiped out the resisting arrest charge and only had Nelson facing any sentencing on the DUI charge.

Nelson was sentenced with having her license suspended for six months as well as a $500fine, DUI school and 50 hours of community service.

Nelson seems to be taking full blame for her accident and her state of being while she was driving. While she contests being inebriated while driving, she does agree that she was in no state to be driving because of her mental condition.

Nelson issued a prepared statement after being sentenced and apologized for her actions. Her status as a judge is under review. It is possible that she could be revoked as a result of her roadside infraction, but it is not for sure.

Drunk Mom Drives Wrong Way at Elementary School

A Melbourne woman was arrested for driving the wrong way at an elementary school while intoxicated. The report was first offered by the Orlando Sentinel.

Charges were brought against Heather Brodeur, 33, who was driving to Suntree Elementary School. She entered the school parking lot from the exit side of the school, hit a gate and drove over a curb before finally leaving through the entrance for the student pickup. This is according the report which was given by the Florida Highway Patrol.

The arrest list which was filed at 3:55pm was for two counts of misdemeanor DUI with property damage, one misdemeanor count of DUI and a ticket for reckless driving. An additional charge was also brought against Brodeur  for driving on the wrong side of the road. After being processed on these charges, she was released from the Brevard County Jail on Thursday with a $2,000 bond.

Reports indicate that Brodeur has been in trouble with the law before. She has also been known to drive the wrong way more than once in her history.

In July 2010, Brodeur was arrested for an accident with property damage, two counts of DUI vehicle property damage or personal injury, and felony possession of methadone and buprenorphine. This past criminal history will be taken into consideration along with the current charges when figuring out what the sentence will be for Brodeur. The fact that she has repeated behaviors will not play into her favor when sentencing occurs. Even with misdemeanor charges, she is facing possible driving restrictions and the loss of her license. It is clear that the Florida mom needs to be more careful in the future when driving her car and stay away from drinking alcohol if she is going to be driving.

Man Charged After Firing Pistol in Front of Officer

On Sunday, police in Kissimmee responded to an individual discharging a firearm in front of them. The officers just happened to witness Angel Santiago Jr., 25, discharge a firearm in their presence. They are not sure if Santiago knew of their presence at the time that they witnessed him. They are also unclear as to whether this was the first shot which was fired by Santiago.

Upon further inspection, it appeared that Santiago was intoxicated while he was operating the vehicle as well. His blood alcohol was tested and he was found to be outside of the legal range for the state of Florida. He was later arrested and charged with a list of different charges including DUI and gun charges. It is still unclear as to this time as to what the intention of Santiago was when he was firing his pistol.

The charges of DUI and discharging a firearm in public are both very serious safety violations and will be taken very seriously whenever he is brought before the judge. His willingness to put other people at risk is a factor which will play heavily in the sentencing portion of his arrest because the judge will not lightly offer a sentence in his case.

The list of charges is driving under the influence, discharging a firearm in public, using a firearm while under the influence of alcohol, possession of a firearm while being the subject of a domestic-violence injunction and carrying a concealed firearm. While some of these charges are likely to be dropped whenever the case goes to trial, it is obvious that the officers charging Santiago wanted to make sure to highlight just how serious the situation was and how imperative it is that he is punished severely for his actions.