PALM BEACH, FLORIDA – According to The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Fort Lauderdale Circuit judge sentenced a 21-year-old male to 25 years in prison for DUI manslaughter and failing to render aid. Bendy Sainthilaire was sentenced for the 2005 death of Terry “TJ” Brown, 28.
The DUI accident occurred on December 18, 2005, when Brown was riding his bike along North Federal Highway in Boca Raton. He was headed to work as a chef at the Boca Raton Resort & Club. Sainthilaire was 18 at the time of the incident and reportedly had been out all night drinking.
Sainthilaire’s Ford Explorer was stopped by a Broward Sheriff’s Office deputy near Hillsboro Beach after the deputy noticed a bike lodged in the grill of the SUV. The defendant testified that another man had been driving at the time of the crash but had forced Sainthilaire, at gunpoint, into the driver’s seat.
Sainthilaire said he made a mistake by drinking and driving, but under questioning by prosecutors, he denied that he was the driver. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
DUI death brings 25 years, The South Florida Sun-Sentinel, September 20, 2008
Our Florida drunk driving attorneys can represent you in court if you have been arrested and charged with drunk driving. Offices are located in Fort Lauderdale and North Fort Lauderdale Beach.