Man Charged With DUI Manslaughter, Vehicular Homicide In Violent Miami Crash
MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A man has been arrested in a deadly Miami crash that killed three people.
Erwin Recinoszuniga, 26, is charged with three counts of DUI manslaughter.
During an appearance in bond court Friday morning, Circuit Judge Mindy Glazer found probable cause for the charges and ordered Recinoszuniga to surrender his passport and ordered him held on a $105,000 bond.
Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer said "It's nothing compared with the three lives lost and the one person injured because he made a decision to drive. They were drinking from midnight until 2:15 and made a decision to get into a car and drive to a club."
On Sunday, February 13th, police said Recinoszuniga was driving a red 4-door Kia Forte westbound on Flagler Street around 3 a.m. when he lost control and struck a light pole near 48th Avenue. The car came to a final rest at a nearby Valero gas station.
The report said an electronic data recorder said he was going 78 miles per hour in a 40-mile per hour zone at the time of the crash.
According to the arrest report, when Recinoszuniga tried to overtake two vehicles that were driving at a slower speed, he drove into oncoming traffic where he lost control.
Two people in the vehicle were ejected on impact and pronounced dead at the scene. Three others including, Recinoszuniga, were taken to the Ryder Trauma Center. One of the passengers died at the hospital.
Witnesses told police they saw Recinoszuniga drinking five to six shots of whiskey before the accident, according to the arrest report.
"He was under the influence of alcohol and that may have been a contributing factor. He was going at a high rate of speed. It is a very unfortunate situation. The message that we want to reiterate is drivers if you have one drink too many, hand off your keys and be responsible. As we see here we have a very sad situation," said Miami Police Officer Kenia Fallat.
Recinoszuniga is also charged with vehicular homicide in a reckless manner and DUI and reckless driving with serious bodily injury. He will have to surrender his passport and if he posts bond, he will be under an order not to drive any vehicles.
In court, as the suspect's loved ones listened, his attorney said that he was not the driver in this case but a Prosecutor said a detective determined that he was the driver in this crash. "Right now the evidence shows he was the driver," said the Prosecutor.
