'Sometimes things are really accidents': Man arrested after Boca fatal crash avoids prison
WEST PALM BEACH — A Boca Raton man arrested in connection with a 2021 fatal car crash has pleaded guilty to reckless driving, avoiding time in prison.
Miguel Oduardo, 60, collided with motorcyclist Eric Brown at the intersection of Yamato Road and Northwest Fifth Avenue in Boca Raton at about 8 p.m. Nov. 27, 2021. A blood draw revealed Oduardo's blood-alcohol level was more than twice Florida's legal threshold for intoxication, according to Boca Raton police.
Police investigators said Oduardo failed to yield as he turned his Toyota Tundra pickup left onto Northwest Fifth, crashing into Brown's westbound Kawasaki motorcycle and throwing the 40-year-old rider to the pavement. The suburban Boca Raton resident died soon afterward at Delray Medical Center.
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Oduardo initially faced a DUI manslaughter charge, but information revealed over the course of the investigation pointed to something else.
"We retained an accident reconstructionist who was very helpful in saying, 'You know what? There are some issues here,' " said Michelle Suskauer, Oduardo's defense attorney.
Witnesses on the scene told police they could see the motorcyclist prior to the collision, Suskauer said, but then said during deposition that the opposite was true. The motorcycle, determined to be a trick bike modified so its rider could stand on the gas tank, didn't have a headlight — only two after-market flashlights.
The traffic homicide and toxicology reports also revealed Brown was under the influence of illegal substances, Suskauer said, and may have been speeding.
"The combination of that with independent witness really did not support the state's case for DUI manslaughter," Suskauer said. "Once the depositions were taken and the state learned that, we were able to resolve it. I commend the state for doing the right thing."
Suskauer and Assistant State Attorney Storm Tropea negotiated the charge down from DUI manslaughter to reckless driving causing serious bodily injury, a third-degree felony for which the maximum penalty is five years in prison.
In exchange for Oduardo's guilty plea Friday, and in accordance with the attorney's plea bargain, Circuit Judge Howard Coates withheld adjudication, keeping Oduardo from becoming a convicted felon.
Coates sentenced Oduardo to three years of probation, during which time he must attend DUI school, complete an eight-hour defensive driving course and perform 100 hours of community service. Brown's family agreed to the deal, Suskauer said.
"Sometimes, things are really accidents," the attorney said afterward.
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Hannah Phillips is a journalist covering public safety and criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Fatal Boca Raton crash that killed motorcyclist ends with guilty plea
