Joseph Safrany was serving a Florida DUI sentence of life in prison for a 2000 drunk driving accident that took the life of three people. The 45-year-old challenged the sentence with hand written arguments and by filing appeals after spending years behind bars reading law books. Safrany seemed to pull off a major shocker when he got a judge to grant him the opportunity for a new sentence but on Monday Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman sentenced the man to 50 years in prison.
Safrany was driving nearly 30 miles over the posted speed limit of 45 mph in April of 2007 when his Cadillac crashed with a Honda, which had four men inside including a driver who was drunk himself. Three of the men died including the driver of the Honda who also would have been facing Florida DUI charges had he survived the crash. The three passengers who lost their lives were all between the ages of 19-23 and the group was returning from what TampaBay.com describes as a night out partying in Ybor City. The car was hit so hard by Safrany that it rolled 140 feet after the collision.
Category Archives: DUI Felony
Four-Time DUI Convict Sentenced To 12 Years In Prison After Killing A Firefighter In A Drunk Driving Crash
The fourth DUI conviction for Seville, Florida’s Raymond T. Youngblood will put the 62-year-old behind prison bars for 12 years. Raymond T. Youngblood was driving drunk when he hit an Orange County firefighter who was riding his motorcycle. Youngblood was driving in the wrong lance of U.S. 17 when he killed Michael E. Priester.
Youngblood was sentenced to 12 years in prison by a DeLand judge for the second-degree felony. The accident took place February 21 and Priester died at the scene of the collision. According to the Daytona Beach News-Journal the courtroom was full of firefighters waiting to hear the sentence handed down to Youngblood.
Breath Test Refusal Lands New Port Richey Man In Prison For 12 Years
Donald Hancock was found not guilty of DUI by a jury of his peers but that wasn’t good enough to save him from a violation of probation charge that has landed him a 12 year prison sentence. A Circuit Judge ruled that Hancock, though not guilty of the DUI, violated his probation for refusing to take a breath test on the night of his arrest. The judge ruled that refusal showed a consciousness of guilt.
Hancock was on probation stemming from a 1996 DUI manslaughter conviction. The 46-year-old was sentenced to 15 years in prison for killing his wife in a drunk driving accident. His blood-alcohol level that night was 0.25. According to TBO.com Hancock had complied with his probation up until the time of his latest arrest. The judge felt the 1996 DUI incident was not isolated considering the latest turn of events.
Daytona Beach DUI Could Land Driver In Prison For 31 Years
Mark Lester Wolf is facing two to three decades in prison following a plea of no contest to DUI manslaughter charges. Wolf was driving drunk when he caused a crash that took the life of a 35-year-old woman and injured three other people. The crash took place over a year ago on I-95.
Wolf’s DUI Lawyer attempted to get some of the charges against his client dismissed as he argued that the law was vague on leaving the scene of a crash involving serious bodily injury. The judge on the case ruled those two charges would not be dismissed and Wolf is now facing a sentence of 23 to 31 years in prison. He will be sentenced April 28.
DUI Manslaughter Charges Filed In Florida Against Davenport Man That Killed His Co-Worker
A pair of co-workers went out for dinner last December and after their meal the two men were chatting in the restaurant parking lot. At some point Chandrashekar Singh got into his car and continued his conversation with William C. Morrison. As Singh pulled out of his parking spot he hit Morrison, who later died from his injuries.
Singh has now been charged with DUI manslaughter for the accident. According to the Orlando Sentinel investigators found Singh had a blood-alcohol level of 0.191 at the time he hit his co-worker. The 25-year-old from Davenport was arrested by Polk County police and is in jail where he is being held without bond.
Man Accused Of Severing Teenagers Leg In Drunk Driving Accident Gets Eight Years In Prison
The man who was accused of drunk driving and hitting a Safety Harbor teenager will not face a jury trial. Joshua West worked out a plea agreement that will send him away for eight years in what is believed to be a DUI crash that cost then-19-year-old Andrew Hall his left leg. West was speeding early in the morning April 20 when he hit Hall, who was waiting near his apartment for a ride.
Hall has accepted an apology West issued at Tuesday’s hearing but he told the St. Petersburg Times he wasn’t so sure how sincere the 25-year-old was. Hall is now living in Clearwater and will soon be featured on the show “The Doctors”, which is syndicated and hosted by Montel Williams. The show should air sometime in February.
Woman Accused Of Robbing A St. Cloud Walmart Could Face DUI Manslaughter Charges As Well
A 57-year-old grandmother of three was killed by a woman who ran a red light in St. Cloud, Florida. According to WKMG Orlando the FHP suspects 24-year-old Jeri Bollinger was either driving drunk or driving under the influence of drugs when she ran a red light and hit Martha Jones’ car. The Florida Highway Patrol is awaiting blood tests to confirm Bollinger was driving drunk. The young woman has been previously charged with DUI and running red lights.
Bollinger was arrested on Tuesday on unrelated charges that she robed a St. Cloud Walmart but could be facing DUI manslaughter charges as well once her blood alcohol level is determined. Jones had just dropped of a child at Harmony High School when Bollinger’s jeep sped through an intersection and hit her car as she was driving with the green light.
DUI Manslaughter Charges Dismissed Against Man With Cocaine In His System Due To Lack Of Impairment
A July 9 car accident that left Richard Klose dead, ended in a DUI arrest when the driver tested positive for cocaine. Nearly seven months later the charges against David Lanier have been dropped. The Orange-Osceola State Attorney’s Office dropped the case saying there was no evidence of impairment. Assistant State Attorney Robert Eagan wrote “Cocaine in one’s system does not constitute impairment”.
According to a story in the Orlando Sentinel, St. Cloud police crash investigators determined the fatal DUI crash would not have happened had Lanier not been under the influence of cocaine. In Florida there is no definition of cocaine impairment. Drug-related DUI cases are based on an officer observation backed up by lab reports.
Lanier is an admitted heroin user and on the night of the crash police searched his car and found crack pipes, syringes with cocaine residue and marijuana. He tested positive for Xanax and cocaine. He has three previous convictions in Florida. Two were for felony cocaine charges. Lanier said he hadn’t used cocaine for three days prior to the fatal crash.
DUI Manslaughter Suspect Who Had His Passport Flagged Caught At Orlando International Airport
The Orlando Sentinel is reporting that a suspect in an alleged drunk driving manslaughter case has been arrested after authorities flagged his passport fearing he would flee the country. Adam Nocheherly is accused of killing two women when he allegedly sped through a red light drunk one night in July of 2008. He has been charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter and two counts of vehicular homicide.
According to the article and the Florida Highway Patrol, Nocheherly had a blood alcohol level slightly above the legal limit of .08 at the time of the crash. Troopers were unable to prove he ran the red light that cost two young women their lives but the FHP said they did determine he was speeding as they re-created the accident for the first time ever in a case where there were no eyewitness accounts.
Former High School Football Coach In Sarasota Set To Stand Trial In DUI Manslaughter Case
Josh Hunter, the former football coach at Braden River, will stand trial this spring in Sarasota on charges of DUI manslaughter. According to a story on Bradenton.com, Hunter’s trial is set for April 19. The charges stem from a single car accident on an I-75 ramp. Hunter is accused of drunk driving when he flipped his truck causing the death of one of his passengers.
Troopers on the scene of the accident reported smelling a strong odor of alcohol and they also photographed numerous beer bottles and cans inside the truck. Hunter did not perform field sobriety tests but his blood was drawn and sent to a lab and sent for analysis. The 31-year-old faces upto 15 years in prison if convicted of DUI manslaughter.