CBS Global from Miami has reported that the attorney for a man charged with DUI manslaughter, for a hit-an-run that claimed the life of a 13 year-old girl, entered a plea of not guilty for his client as the man failed to attend his court appearance on May 4.
The attorney entered the plea in the Richard E. Gerstein Justice Building before Judge Marisa Tinkler-Mendez.
The accused man, S.G. had appeared earlier, at his bond hearing on April 24.
Several family members spoke about the young descendent, Kaely, after the plea was entered. Kaely's uncle, B.C., who is also acting as the family spokesperson said, "I think the state attorney is doing all they can to gather the evidence for the trial, we don't expect the trial in the near future, and we will just wait and see what happens. We feel very confident and of course the family is very upset, still upset."
B.C. said that the family expected S.G. to enter the not guilty plea. A.C. and K.C., Kaely's parents, said that they are looking for justice.
A.C. said, "We're going to be here, every time there's a case, a date that we have to come and be present we're going to be here and support, you know, this tragic loss that we're suffering."
S.G. made his bond of $1 million – once it was lowered to $205,000 – on April 25. Both bond amounts are considered high for a DUI manslaughter charge in the state of Florida. If it had remained at $1 million it would have been one of the largest, and even at $205,000, it was much larger than the average.
A condition of S.G.'s release was that he wear an electronic monitoring device, must refrain from drinking and driving, and remain under house arrest. Because the family is are from Nicaragua, both of S.G.'s parents were ordered to surrender their passports, as was S.G.
On Friday, April 13, Kaely was killed when a Land Rover driven by S.G. T-boned the minivan her father drove. The car crash occurred at U.S. 1 and S.W. 184th Street in Southwest Miami-Dade.
Police determined that S.G. was traveling at 100 mph prior to the crash.
After driving into the minivan, the Land Rover hit a tree and spun five times. The vehicle finally came to a stop approximately 400 feet from where collision occurred. S.G. attempted to flee the scene but officers were able to apprehend him just blocks away.
Reporters learned that during the police investigation S.G. admitted that he had been drinking "hard liquor" prior to the accident.
Charges against S.G. include vehicular homicide, DUI manslaughter, leaving the scene of an accident that resulted in death, leaving the scene of an accident causing serious bodily injury, and driving without a driver's license that resulted in a death.
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