Woman guilty of manslaughter for giving drunken friend keys before fatal Lakeland crash

A Brandon woman who was charged with manslaughter for giving a drunken friend her keys moments before a fatal DUI crash on I-4 in Lakeland has been convicted.

The State Attorney's Office for the 10th Judicial Circuit said Friday that Michelle English, 47, was convicted of manslaughter and will be sentenced July 24.

According to the SAO and previous reports, English visited several bars in Lakeland with her friend, Lucretia Bruno, in November 2021, and Bruno had several drinks. When Bruno stopped at the WaWa in on U.S. 98 North in Lakeland, she was showing signs of impairment and her keys were taken by another customer and given to the store clerk.

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The Polk County Sheriff's Office, which investigated the case, said Bruno called English, who arrived at the WaWa store and retrieved the keys from the clerk. Video surveillance showed English handing Bruno her car keys and Bruno leaving the store.

Minutes later, the Sheriff's Office said, Bruno turned onto I-4 in North Lakeland and struck a Ford F250 that was parked on the paved shoulder after a minor traffic accident. That collision killed Brent Kirkendall, 44, of Holiday, a popular local fishing captain and father of two.

The Sheriff's Office said Bruno had a blood alcohol level of .207 at the time of the crash. The legal limit is 0.08. Bruno's manslaughter case is still pending, the State Attorney's Office said.

For culpable negligence manslaughter, a second-degree felony, English could face up to 15 years in prison at sentencing.

This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Woman who gave drunken friend keys convicted in fatal Lakeland crash