Fort Lauderdale Fla. – A 26-year-old Lauderdale Lakes man has been charged with DUI manslaughter, among many other charges, for the killing of 27-year-old Palla Acosta in a crash in Pompano Beach on February 19, 2020.
At the time of the crash, the accused and a passenger were traveling at 96 miles-per-hour on Northeast 10th Street near Northeast Fifth Avenue which has a 35 mph posted limit. Palla Acosta was rollerblading nearby when the man’s car struck a tree and split into two pieces, according to reports.
Ms. Acosta was struck by the debris and killed. The 26-year-old, Brazilian born had married only 3 years earlier.
The driver and his passenger survived the crash. The driver blew a 0.17 blood alcohol level, which is double the presumptive limit of 0.08 BAL.
The driver has been charged, his passport revoked and he awaits trial.
The charges include “vehicular homicide, two counts of DUI manslaughter, three counts of reckless driving with damage to a person or property, three counts of driving under the influence with damage to property or a person of another, reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, and two counts of DUI and serious bodily injury to another.” (Local 10 News)
We hope that anyone who reads this article will consider this when drinking this holiday season. There are ways to avoid a DUI during the holidays, and with the invention of ridesharing apps like Uber and Lyft, there should be no excuse for any driver to get behind the wheel of a car after drinking.
Our personal injury law firm sees these kinds of car accidents in West Palm Beach, and car accident in Fort Lauderdale. Each collision could have been avoided, or the severity could have been lessened if the drivers involved were not intoxicated or under the influence.
We’ve all heard it many times, ‘don’t drink and drive’, and ‘buzzed driving is drunk driving’. And maybe that’s part of the problem. After hearing this advice over and over again, we may have become numb to it. But stories like that above illustrate how a few drinks could destroy your life and the lives of others.
It’s so important to keep that in mind and we hope everyone does this holiday season.
About the Author
Michael Feiner
Michael A. Feiner is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Steinger, Greene & Feiner. Since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2001, Michael has devoted his practice to representing plaintiffs throughout Florida in various tort and strict liability cases and has successfully litigated cases against national insurance companies, large public companies, and governmental agencies, resulting in tens of millions of dollars for his clients.
He has handled all types of personal injury and wrongful death cases on behalf of plaintiffs, including automobile negligence, premises liability, medical malpractice, product liability, dog bites, and sexual harassment. Michael’s product liability case against Microsoft, as well as his representation of victims of sexual harassment and abuse by physicians, has garnered him important media attention at both the local and national levels.
Michael is an experienced trial lawyer and successfully argued an appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. In the reported decision Ortlieb v. Butts, 849 So.2d 1165 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), Michael persuaded the Fourth District Court of Appeal that a directed verdict on liability was appropriate where the defendant did not rebut the presumption of negligence of a rear driver in a rear-end collision.
Michael Feiner
Michael A. Feiner is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Steinger, Greene & Feiner. Since being admitted to the Florida Bar in 2001, Michael has devoted his practice to representing plaintiffs throughout Florida in various tort and strict liability cases and has successfully litigated cases against national insurance companies, large public companies, and governmental agencies, resulting in tens of millions of dollars for his clients. He has handled all types of personal injury and wrongful death cases on behalf of plaintiffs, including automobile negligence, premises liability, medical malpractice, product liability, dog bites, and sexual harassment. Michael’s product liability case against Microsoft, as well as his representation of victims of sexual harassment and abuse by physicians, has garnered him important media attention at both the local and national levels. Michael is an experienced trial lawyer and successfully argued an appeal to the Fourth District Court of Appeal. In the reported decision Ortlieb v. Butts, 849 So.2d 1165 (Fla. 4th DCA 2003), Michael persuaded the Fourth District Court of Appeal that a directed verdict on liability was appropriate where the defendant did not rebut the presumption of negligence of a rear driver in a rear-end collision.