In Florida, a driver commits the offense of DUI manslaughter when they are in actual, physical control of a vehicle, is intoxicated under Florida law, and causes the death of another person. Actual physical control refers to the driver being inside the vehicle, or in the case of a motorcycle, have the capability to operate the vehicle. It does not matter if the person is actually operating the vehicle at the time.
The penalties for DUI manslaughter in Florida are severe. It is a second-degree felony under Florida law. Under Florida law, if convicted, a judge must impose a mandatory sentence of 124 ½ months in prison. The term may be as many as fifteen years in prison and fifteen years of probation.
The Florida Times-Union reports that a Jacksonville woman has been charged in a 2019 fatal DUI crash.
36-year-old Kristal Ann LeClerc was arrested on July 2nd and has been charged with DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of a crash involving death, DUI with property damage, and driving with a license that was suspended.
The charges stem from an accident that occurred at about 11:40 p.m. on February 8, 2019.
35-year-old Richard Allen Wilson, Jr., was walking on the shoulder of North Main Street at Kirk Road. He was hit by a dark blue Ford F-150 according to the Florida Highway Patrol. The impact threw Wilson across the road. The truck swerved and fled the scene.
Police discovered the truck abandoned on a nearby street. Surveillance video of the truck from a nearby gas station. DNA evidence collected from the truck linked it to the victim.
Witnesses told investigators that LeClerc was seen leaving a bar in Oceanway that night.
Based on the evidence, a warrant was issued for LeClerc’s arrest.
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