She was reportedly angry with her boyfriend. So as she and her friends went from bar to bar, the woman in her early 20s sent him some texts expressing that anger. As she drove home at nearly 5 a.m., the texts continued: “Driving drunk woo,” stated one. “I’ll be dead thanks to you,” said another.
Three minutes after sending her final text, she drove her rented car through a red light, slamming full-force into the side of the truck. The Denver Channel reports that she survived the 2013 crash, and the truck driver survived, but her passenger in the rented Smart Car did not.
The angry girlfriend, then 22 years old, was charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and two counts of DUI with damage to a person in the fatal Florida crash that killed her friend, also 22 at the time.
The driver’s BAC (blood alcohol content) was tested at 0.178 percent, which is more than twice the legal threshold of 0.08 percent.
Prosecutors recently released the content of the texts, but it is unclear from the news report if the release has had any effect on defense strategy.
In some similar situations, negotiations on a plea agreement will commence between the defendant’s attorney and the prosecutor. In other circumstances, a defendant will prefer to make their case in court with an attorney experienced in both DUI defense and vehicular homicide defense.
Please see our Vehicular Assault and Vehicular Homicide Defense page for more information about how the experienced attorneys of Shazam Kianpour & Associates can serve you.