"Dump truck driver arrested for DUI"

Florida Highway Patrol officials arrested a man who they say was driving a dump truck under the influence in Sept. and caused a crash which killed one person and injured three others.

Officials say Daniel Arends, 49, was arrested because of his involvement in a traffic crash that occurred on Sept. 21, 2010, in which he was operating a dump truck on Ridge Road at the intersection of Galen Wilson Blvd. under the influence of diazepam, nordiazepam, and oxycodone.

Investigators say Arends was traveling at a high rate of speed, 68 mph in a 45 mph speed zone, when the front of his dump truck collided with the rear of a Chevrolet pick-up truck.

The impact caused a chain reaction and the Chevrolet was forced forward into the rear of a Ford Mustang and a Saturn SUV. All three vehicles impacted by Arends were stopped for other traffic at the time of the crash.

The driver of the Chevrolet, Ruben Q. Echevarria, 59, was pronounced dead at the scene.

The driver of the Mustang, Darynn J. Magee, 24, and the occupants of the Saturn, John C. Shelak, 62, and Bonnie J. Shelak, 59 were injured in the accident.

Arends was charged with DUI manslaughter, three counts of DUI with serious bodily injury, and manslaughter by culpable negligence. He was transported to the Pasco County Jail and issued a $50,000 bond.

For more information please visit: http://www.baynews9.com/article/news/2011/march/214834/Dump-truck-driver-arrested-for-DUI

Former UCF student found guilty and convicted of DUI manslaughter

A 23-year-old former UCF student was sentenced to 18 months in prison Nov. 20 after killing a 19-year-old UCF student while driving under the influence.

Malcolm barnes pled no contest in an Orange County court for DUI manslaughter charges he faced from an accident in October 2006.

barnes was driving on the wrong side of Alafaya Trail between State Road 50 and University Boulevard near UCF when he hit Andrew Brannon, who was on a motorcycle, head-on, said Cpl. Diane Riberdy of Florida Highway Patrol.

Brannon, despite wearing a helmet, died at the scene, said Riberdy, who was the first deputy to arrive at the scene.

For more information please visit: http://www.centralfloridafuture.com/former-student-found-guilty-1.2099785

If you've been injured in a motorcycle accident because a motorist was driving under the influence, please call our office 24/7 for a free case evaluation. 1-866-LAW-FRAN - for more information please visit http://www.lawfran.com/

A 26-year-old woman who was speeding and weaving out of traffic on Interstate 95 is guilty of vehicular homicide of two motorcyclists she hit

A jury deliberated for a hour Wednesday afternoon before finding Dominique Brice, of Miami, guilty of killing the motorcyclists parked along the northbound lanes on Feb. 29, 2008, near the juncture of Indian River and St. Lucie counties.

Sentencing is Nov. 25. She could face up to 30 years in jail.

Killed in the mid-day accident were off-duty North Miami police officer Fritz Doucet, 37, and West Palm Beach computer technician Raul Ortiz. They were recently reunited high school buddies going to Bike Week in Daytona Beach, said Ortiz’s sister, Carmen Sanchez, of New Jersey.

For more information please visit: http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/oct/14/miami-woman-on-trial-in-vero-beach-in-deaths-of/

If you've been involved in a motorcycle accident please call our office 24/7 for a free case evaluation. 1-866-LAW-FRAN - for more information please visit http://www.lawfran.com

Celebrity bike shop owner gets 6 years in prison and 3 years of probation for the death of a biker

A motorcycle shop owner who has appeared on the Discovery Channel's "Biker Build-Off" has been sentenced to six years in prison and three years of probation for the traffic death of a biker.

A Florida judge on Friday also ordered Billy Lane's driver's license suspended for life and that he undergo random drug and alcohol testing upon his release from prison.

Lane faced up to nine years in prison after a judge in June approved a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of DUI manslaughter.

Police say Lane's blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he crossed a double-yellow line to speed past three cars on a road south of Melbourne Beach in 2006. He crashed his pickup head-on into a motorcycle driven by Jerry Morelock.

For more information please visit: http://www.miamiherald.com/news/florida/AP/story/1186835.html

If you've been involved in an automobile or motorcycle accident please call our office 24/7 for a free case evaluation. 1-866-LAW-FRAN - for more information please visit http://www.lawfran.com

Sentencing in celebrity motorcycle builder Billy Lane’s vehicular homicide case is set for 9 a.m. Friday in courtroom 4B of the Moore Justice Center

Lane, 39, faces up to nine years in prison after a judge in June OK’d a plea deal in which prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of DUI manslaughter in connection with a Sept. 4, 2006, crash that left Sebastian Inlet park ranger Gerald Morelock dead.

Police said Lane’s blood-alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit when he crossed a double-yellow line to speed at 68 mph past three cars on State Road A1A south of Melbourne Beach. He crashed his Dodge pickup head on into 56-year-old Morelock’s small Yamaha motorcycle.

Probation, house arrest or alcohol and drug provisions will be up to the discretion of Circuit Judge Robert Burger.

Lane, who has been free pending sentencing, will argue for no prison time, attorneys said.

For more information please visit: http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20090813/BREAKINGNEWS/90813007/1006/news01/Bike+builder+Billy+Lane+faces+fate+Friday

If you've been injured in a motorcycle accident and the at-fault driver was intoxicated/under the influence, please call our office 24/7 for a free motorcycle case evaluation. 1-866-LAW-FRAN - for more information please visit http://www.lawfran.com