In Florida, the minimum mandatory sentence for DUI Manslaughter is four (4) years in Florida State Prison (FSP).  In addition, for a person convicted of DUI Manslaughter in Florida, there is a mandatory permanent revocation of their driver’s license. If the convicted DUI driver has no prior DUI related convictions, the driver may be eligible for hardship reinstatement after 5 years.

If you have been arrested for DUI, DUI with Property Damage, DUI with Serious Bodily Injury, or DUI Manslaughter in Polk County or Florida call an experienced DUI attorney today to protect your rights.

Call and speak with Thomas C. Grajek, an experienced DUI trial lawyer in Polk County willing to fight for you in court today!

CALL DUI LAWYER THOMAS C. GRAJEK NOW !!!

863-838-5549 cell 

Call now because you only have 10 days to request a Formal Review or get a hardship license.

Aggressive DUI attorney handling all DUI arrests in Florida and Polk County, Florida including Bartow, Lakeland, Winter Haven, Mulberry, HainesCity, Auburndale, and Lake Wales.

On Monday, July 15, John Bourn was killed when his pickup truck slammed into the center of a tractor trailer. The truck, operated by transportation giant Werner Enterprises, was leaving a Citgo gas station at Hwy 27 and Penny Loop near Lake Wales, FL. As the truck attempted to cross the northbound lanes of Hwy 27, its trailer was completely blocking the northbound travel lanes, leaving Mr. Bourn without any reasonable way to avoid crashing into the trailer.

The initial crash caused a chain reaction pileup that ultimately involved 4 vehicles, including those driven by 61-year-old Emily Mills and 75-year-old Elizabeth Levy. It is unknown at this time if Ms. Mills or Ms. Levy were injured in the crash.

Mr. Bourn’s death, and the possible injuries of Ms. Mills and Ms. Levy, could have been avoided if the Werner drivers had heeded two important safety concerns. One, it is always the duty of a driver entering a roadway to give way to oncoming traffic, and to not enter into the travel lanes without ensuring that oncoming traffic is either not present, or that the oncoming traffic can stop in an assured clear distance if necessary. Too often it is the case that truck drivers simply swing their rigs out into traffic, blocking the roadway, and expecting that oncoming traffic will be able to yield in time.

Two, early reports show that the Werner truck drivers were a “tag team” of an experienced driver trainer, and an apprentice driver. While it is not known which driver was behind the wheel of the Werner rig at the time of the crash, chances are high that it was the apprentice driver, who didn’t have experience in piloting a fully loaded tractor trailer into a busy multi-lane highway. Fully loaded trucks simply don’t move as fast as one might expect, and it takes some getting used to the fact of having a 53 foot trailer behind your truck. Trucking concerns like Werner need to ensure that drivers are adequately trained prior to letting them get into situations like this.

The Lietz Law Firm has successfully litigated tractor trailer crashes where trucks have entered roadways into oncoming traffic, with their trailers blocking the road. We have also previously handled cases involving Werner Transportation.

In order to cite a driver for this violation, the person must be stopped for some other lawful reason. That means that if a police officer saw a driver texting, the deputy could not pull the person over and give them a ticket, unless the cop saw another infraction that gives him that authority.

This is called a “secondary offense” because it does not allow the officer to pull you over for it, but can be an additional traffic citation. This is how Florida’s seat belt law started out. Initially, law enforcement officers or Florida Highway Patrol trooper could not pull a driver over for not wearing a seat belt, but eventually the law was changed to make not wearing a seat belt a primary offense did allow an officer to pull a person over and write a ticket for not wearing a seat belt.

There is also a provision in the law that allows police to use drivers’ mobile phone records against them only when texting causes a crash resulting in death or personal injury. Whether this part of the law stands up to illegal searches and seizures or requires a warrant before the police can get this information will eventually be challenged in court. In addition, an objection would be made that the need a custodian of records from the cell phone company to get these records into evidence to assure they are accurate and your phone record and not someone else on your plan.

The ban covers tablet computers as well as mobile phones, but excludes using a talk-to-text feature. It also allows texting while stopped at a red light. You can also use your phone records to defend against a texting-while-driving ticket, but some phone companies’ records don’t differentiate between manual texting and talk-to-text messaging.

A first violation is a $30 fine plus court costs. A second or subsequent violation within five years adds three points to the driver’s license and carries a $60 fine.

Eventually, this will become a primary offense so that the police will have another reason to pull drivers over and search their vehicles. Even if your phone records prove that you did not text, you will still have to fight the search because an officer can always say “well, it looked like he was texting.” However, a judge or jury may have something to say about that and your criminal charges could be dismissed because the officer did not have the right to pull you over.

If you were pulled over and the police searched your car, you may have a defense to the criminal charges against you.

Call aggressive criminal lawyer Thomas C. Grajek in Lakeland, Florida now and go to court with a an attorney that will fight for you!

CALL NOW AND SPEAK TO AN EXPERIENCED, AGGRESSIVE

POLK COUNTY CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER.

CALL AND SET YOUR FREE OFFICE CONSULTATION NOW!

You will not have to drive to another county. Office – Lakeland, Polk County.

Thomas C. Grajek 863-688-4606

Aggressive DUI, DRUG and SEX CRIME attorney representing all individuals arrested in Florida and Polk County, Florida including Bartow, Lakeland, Winter Haven, Mulberry, Haines City, Auburndale, and Lake Wales.