In 2014, a three people were killed in an accident that was attributed to a drunk driver. Two other people were injured in the accident. That fatal accident led to a 25-year-old man facing felony charges. The case was recently resolved after the man pleaded guilty to two counts of felony DUI with injury and three counts of felony DUI with death.
The man was sentenced to 15 years on the felony DUI with injury and 18 years on the felony DUI with death. He received credit for 530 days that he has already been incarcerated. Those sentences will be served concurrently. He will have to serve at least 85 percent of that sentence. His release will occur when he is 39 or 40 years old.
The plea deal, which the solicitor said was necessary because of possible issues that could have prevented a conviction, included fines. He will have to pay $5,100 for the injury charges. He also has to pay $10,100 for each of the fatality charges.
If the man had been given the maximum sentence, he would have faced a total of 135 years in prison. The leniency in this case seems to be partially because of possible issues with the case. Those issues include assertions that the hospital blood test wasn’t admissible, the State Law Enforcement Division blood evidence was probably inadmissible, and that there were Miranda violations associated with the case. The judge did acknowledge that there were issues that could have lead to a reasonable doubt in the case.
Investigating every point in a DUI case can sometimes uncover crucial evidence. Once evidence is uncovered and the points are all investigated, you can move toward building a defense in South Carolina.
Source: WYFF4.com, “Former coach sentenced in triple-fatal DUI during emotional hearing,” Carla Field, April 22, 2016
