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Florida DUI Defense Attorney > Blog > DUI Defense > 25-Year-Old Man Faces Multiple DUI Counts

25-Year-Old Man Faces Multiple DUI Counts

DrunkDriving

A 25-year-old man is facing multiple DUI counts including DUI manslaughter after a crash that killed a 51-year-old man. The 25-year-old was intoxicated and driving without a license at the time of the crash. He will face charges of DUI manslaughter and driving without a license in an accident involving a death.

These are serious charges and the sentencing range is in the decades, not years. The investigation continues, but the 25-year-old faces additional charges of DUI causing property damage, and DUI causing serious bodily injury.

How to beat a DUI manslaughter charge 

Just because you were behind the wheel of a vehicle and got into an accident, it doesn’t mean that the accident was your fault. Fault in an accident has nothing to do with the driver’s intoxication. It has to do with the rules of traffic. It, therefore, becomes perfectly possible to be involved in an accident when you’re drunk and get charged for causing the accident even if you didn’t. Police will assume a drunk driver is responsible for an accident. If you want to prove otherwise, you can hire an accident reconstruction specialist to testify that the accident was likely caused by the other driver. This opens a small window to defeat charges of DUI manslaughter, DUI causing major bodily injury, and DUI causing property damage because prosecutors must establish a link between intoxicating driving and death, injury, or property damage.

Hence, it becomes a defense to DUI manslaughter to say that the other driver was responsible for the accident.

Police have not closed off that defense 

There is no indication of how the accident occurred in the article. All we know is that one man survived and the other did not. Tox screens on bodies take 4-6 weeks whereas roadside breathalyzers produce instant results. So, it’s perfectly plausible that the victim was also drunk. It happens. Two drunk drivers get into an accident. In that case, both would be charged with DUI, DUI causing property damage, and DUI causing injury if the injuries were severe enough. But perhaps only one of the drivers contributed actionable negligence. The driver who did not commit actionable negligence can still face charges for DUI, but they cannot face charges related to accident causation.

If both drivers contributed actionable negligence, then both can be charged. But we can’t know for certain who caused this accident. We only know that the driver was intoxicated, he did not have a license to operate a vehicle, and someone died as he was operating the vehicle. Witness statements, CC footage, and more will be necessary to prove the accident was his fault.

Talk to an Orlando DUI Attorney Today 

FL DUI Group represents the interests of Orlando residents seeking representation for DUI-related charges. Call our Florida DUI defense lawyers today to schedule an appointment and we can begin preparing your defense immediately.

Source:

clickorlando.com/news/local/2023/01/31/25-year-old-arrested-on-dui-charges-in-polk-county-crash-that-killed-man-deputies-say/

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