2017-CF-123

Alcohol-related Offenses, Felony DUI Charges Baker Not Guilty

Felony Case

• Charges: DUI Manslaughter/Vehicular Homicide
• Result: Not Guilty

Charges

• Florida DUI Manslaughter
• Vehicular Homicide
• DUI w/ Injury
• DUI w/ Property Damage

Facts

Defendant was driving on I-10 when a vehicle that was stopped on the shoulder for a tire issue pulled out in front of him. Traffic reconstruction estimated that the driver who pulled out was only going around 20 MPH on I-10 and that the Defendant was going the speed limit, around 70 MPH. The officers on scene suspected alcohol use due to a faint odor of alcohol from the Defendant’s breath. Despite the Defendant not appearing physically impaired by alcohol on scene, the blood draw came back nearly three times the legal limit.

Outcome

The Defendant was found not guilty on all charges. During trial it was learned there may have been an issue regarding the reliability of the blood result and there was doubt as to whether the accident was unavoidable due to the actions of the other driver pulling out into I-10 traffic at such a low speed.

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