Exclusive: Police Identify "Defendant" In Coconut Creek Driving Death
COCONUT CREEK (CBSMiami) -- New details emerged in the investigation into the death of a Coconut Creek man who was killed while trying to stop a friend from driving drunk.
CBS4's Carey Codd obtained a copy of a Coconut Creek Police search warrant that shows some of the evidence police are gathering against the man they call the "defendant" in the case.
Police say on August 16th, Joseph Ianzano tried to stop his friend -- Arias Verdial -- from driving home drunk after the men attended a country concert in West Palm Beach. Investigators say Ianzano blocked Verdial's car with his truck but Verdial drove around the truck. Investigators said Ianzano held on to the back of Verdial's car and was killed when Verdial's car hit a palm tree.
According to the search warrant, Coconut Creek Police name Arias Verdial as a "defendant" in the case. The warrant says Verdial is being investigated for DUI Manslaughter, among other charges.
Click here to watch Carey Codd's report.
The warrant says a "…(witness) advised that both Arias Verdial and Ianzano were drinking while at the concert and that she has never seen Arias Verdial as drunk as she saw him that night."
A police officer said he saw Verdial in the hospital after the crash and "…I was able to smell an odor of an alcoholic beverage coming from his breath. I also observed that Arias Verdial's eyes were bloodshot and glassy."
The warrant says police are awaiting the results of toxicology tests as well as DNA tests that could definitively place Verdial behind the wheel of the car.
Ianzano's family said they have been provided little information from Coconut Creek Police and are wondering why an arrest has not been made. Ianzano's family wants someone held accountable for what happened to Joey.
"That's what I'm waiting for, to tell you the truth," said Joe Ianzano, Joey's grandfather. "It eats at me all the time -- that someone is not held accountable for this as of yet."
Ianzano's family showed Codd a shirt his friends made for a fundraiser to help pay for burial costs and they said they are overwhelmed at the number of lives Joey touched. Friends still text his phone with pictures, thoughts and memories. The pain is never-ending for Joey's grandparents.
"A living hell, seeing them hurt every day," said Barbara Rodberg, Joey's aunt. "Just a living hell."
Ianzano hoped to continue his life of service by becoming a firefighter and was scheduled to attend firefighter school.
Codd tried to reach Arias Verdial over the phone and at two addresses for him for a comment on this story but we could not locate him.
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