Lakeland woman in wheelchair dies on Pipkin Road on Christmas Eve. Plant City man charged
A 40-year-old Lakeland woman was killed riding a motorized wheelchair on West Pipkin Road in Lakeland on Christmas Eve, and a Plant City man was charged with DUI manslaughter.
About 6 p.m. Sunday, Howard Bennett, 67, of Old Mulberry Road in Plant City, was driving east in a 2019 Mazda CX5 on West Pipkin approaching Fairfield Drive when he struck Leslie Stone, who was on her powered wheelchair, also heading east, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
The deputies on scene said they noticed Bennett stumbling while walking and using their patrol vehicle for support. The Sheriff's Office said he had bloodshot and watery eyes and spoke with slurred speech, and the deputies smelled alcohol on his breath. After a field sobriety test, Bennett was arrested.
The Sheriff's Office said Bennett provided two breath samples, which measured 0.159 and 0.158. The legal limit for blook-alcohol level in Florida is 0.08.
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Bennett was booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with DUI manslaughter, DUI .15 or higher with property damage and DUI with property damage.
“Our prayers are with Ms. Stone's family," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a news release Monday. "To lose a loved one this way is awfully tragic, but especially during the holiday season. We hope and pray our citizens will make better choices than this suspect did - please celebrate the holidays responsibly.”
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Plant City man charged with killing Lakeland woman on Pipkin Road
