Hillsborough County Man With Blood-Alcohol Level Of 0.218 Charged With DUI Manslaughter

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

A 35-year-old Hillsborough County man has been charged with DUI manslaughter according to a story on TBO.com. Paul Michael Parks has been arrested and remains in jail with no bail set. According to deputies Parks had a blood-alcohol level of 0.218 at the time of a head-on crash that killed 47-year-old Karen Weaver of Riverview. Parks was also charged with two counts of driving under the influence with property damage or personal injury.

The accident that cost Weaver her life took place December 19 on Big Bend Road. Parks is accused of driving east in the westbound lane and causing the collision.…

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January 25, 2010

Was A Drunk Driver Responsible For Crashing Into A Tampa House And Sending A 9 Year Old To The Hospital?

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Police are investigating an accident that sent a nine-year-old Tampa boy to the hospital. According to TampaBay.com Guillermo Rosales was speeding; ran a stop sign before he crashed into a house where a young boy was sleeping on a couch. Police are still investigating to see if 17-year-old Rosales was; driving drunk at the time of the crash.

Joseph Vanhouse was asleep in his N Orleans Avenue home when Rosales ran a stop sign, hot a parked car in front of the house and rammed into the Vanhouse home. Joey was taken to the hospital and is listed in good condition despite a skull fracture suffered in the crash.…

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January 25, 2010

Tampa Man Charged For DUI On A Bicycle In Collier County

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

A Tampa man has been arrested for DUI in Collier County following a drunken bike ride according to police reports and a story in the Naples News. Tommy Charles, a 51-year-old Tampa man, was arrested in Collier County on charges of DUI, refusal to submit to a DUI breath/blood test, refusing to sign a citation and having an open alcohol container in public.

Deputies reported stopping Miller and noticing he had bloodshot eyes and smelled of alcohol. They also reportedly found two empty beer cans in the front basket of the bicycle. Miller lives on Hillsborough Avenue in Tampa but was arrested riding his bike through East Naples.…

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January 25, 2010

DUI Charges Filed Against Hillsborough County Detention Deputy

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

The Pasco County Sheriff’s Office is reporting that they have cited a Hillsborough County Detention Deputy for drunk driving. Steve Sestokas was charged with DUI in New Port Richey after he reportedly crashed into a guard rail. The 33-year-old detention officer was also charged with resisting arrest.

According to an Associated Press story, a Pasco County Sheriff’s deputy pulled up behind a stopped truck early Saturday. According to deputies, Sestokas said he swerved off the road because he dropped his iPod and reached down to pick it up. Deputies reported smelling alcohol and that Sestokas tried to leave the scene once the deputies identified themselves but he was stuck and could not move his truck.…

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January 19, 2010

Tampa Man Arrested For DUI After His 13-Year-Old Calls Police To Report Him

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

A Tampa man is under arrest at Orient Road jail after his 13-year-old child called police and told them the father was driving drunk. Hillsborough Sheriff’s deputies showed up at the scene and said 33-year-old Gary Joe Greer had bloodshot eyes and was unsteady on his feet according to a story on TampaBay.com. The deputies reported the man seemed impaired.

Greer was stopped and arguing with another person when his 13-year-old child left the car and called 911. The arrest report states that Greer admitted he was drunk and asked to be taken to jail. The deputies obliged that request.…

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January 18, 2010

Tampa Driver Accused Of Drunk Driving Hits Channelside Trolley Saturday Night

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

A GMC Denali collided with a Tampa trolley Saturday night at Channelside Drive and Cumberland. Nobody in the SUV or on the trolley were hurt but Tampa Police have charged 35-year old Joshua Pelletier with DUI in the accident. He was also charged with failure to drive on a designated roadway.

The head-on collision occurred shortly before 10:00 p.m. Saturday night. There were four passengers onboard the trolley at the time police suspect the drunk driving accident took place. Pelletier was allegedly driving northbound on the trolley tracks when he collided with the southbound trolley.…

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January 12, 2010

Drunk Driving Fatalities Down By Two-Thirds In The Past 25 Years According To USA Today

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

According to a story in USA Today based on statistics from federal officials, drunk driving fatalities dropped by 7% from 2007 to 2008 and drunken-driving deaths are down 66% since 1982. While the news is good, the article goes on to report 12,000 people died in 2008 due to drunk driving. In the editorial, USA Today’s editorial board makes a strong push for more interlock ignition devices.

The USA Today story uses New Mexico as an example of how ignition interlocks can help save lives. Since 2002, deaths attributed to DUI have dropped 33%. Almost all categories of drunken driving crimes have dropped as well.…

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January 8, 2010

Tampa DUI Stop Leads To Early Morning Chase And Woman Being Thrown From A Car

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

Tampa Police are still searching for a DUI suspect who escaped an early morning traffic stop for drunk driving. The man was pulled over on Adamo Drive near Orient Road and initially complied with the DUI enforcement officer. Sometime during the 5:00 a.m. stop he jumped back into his car with a female passenger and took off towards downtown Tampa. Police lost the suspect but found the passenger whom the man allegedly pushed out of the car.

Officers eventually saw the car again as it entered I-4 but they were unable to apprehend the man and later found his Jaguar in a ditch.…

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December 21, 2009

Hillsborough County Teen Sentenced To Five Years In Prison In DUI Manslaughter Case

Posted By 1 800 FIGHT IT

David Holdsworth pled guilty earlier this month to DUI manslaughter stemming from a February 2008 accident. The 19-year-old had a blood-alcohol level of 0.136 when he was driving 40 MPH over the speed limit and crashed into another car killing the driver.

Holdsworth was sentenced this past Friday by a Hillsborough County judge to five years in prison and 10 years probation following his release. He pled guilty to causing the death of 32-year-old Samuel Garcia when he lost control of his car. The Apollo Beach teen was driving 75 MPH in a 35 MPH zone at the time of the accident.…

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December 16, 2009

Being Arrested For DUI Does Not Mean You Will Be Convicted Of A DUI

Posted By Stephen Higgins, Esq.

Being arrested and charged with DUI does not mean you will be convicted of DUI. A Tampa Defense Lawyer can evaluate your case and keep you from being convicted of a DUI and possibly have your DUI charge reduced.

There are several ways to beat a DUI. One of the first challenges to any DUI arrest is the reason for the stop of the vehicle. There are also ways to challenge your performance on the Field Sobriety Exercises by arguing that the area was poorly lit or the ground was uneven. Finally, there are ways to challenge the breath test results by acquiring the video from the Hillsborough County Jail and evaluating the time frame of your entry into the sallyport area and the time of your first breath sample.…

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