Tampa Bay Criminal Defense Lawyer Blog
The local CBS station produced a heartbreaking story about a woman that was texting seconds before her car accident that cost her friend her life…and potentially the woman’s freedom.
“I’ll be dead thanks to you”…”Driving Drunk- woo”…These were just a few of the messages that 22-year-old Mila Dago sent her boyfriend moments before she ran a red light and crashed into a moving truck. The resulting crash ended her passenger’s life and now Ms. Dago has been charged with DUI manslaughter.
Miami police released those texts from Ms. Dago along with several others messages she had sent that night to her boyfriend. Officers painted a scene of the defendant out on the town with her friend. Sometime during the bar hopping she had gotten into a text war with her boyfriend that ended in a break up. This seemed to have set Mila off. Her texts became angrier and angrier until she sent off the above two.
At almost 4:45 a.m., just three minutes after those texts were sent, prosecutors claim that she ran a red light in downtown Miami, plowing her rental car into a moving truck. The truck driver was knocked unconscious but otherwise not harmed. Her friend, who was with her bar hopping throughout the night, was not so lucky. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Arriving police noticed the smell of alcohol and signs of impairment. Blood tests were taken and she was found to have a B.A.C. of .178 over two hours after the crash. This is twice the legal limit of .08!
While this tragedy took place in August, she was not formally charged until January because her blood results took so long to come back. The defendant has pled not guilty and they are still awaiting a trial date. She has been charged with DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and two counts of DUI with property damage.
This latest DUI or vehicular homicide incident is one of numerous similar cases that have taken place in South Florida in the past year.
Her criminal defense attorney offered sympathy for the victim’s parents but would not comment on the case as it was ongoing.
A seperate wrongful death lawsuit is also pending between the victim’s parents and Ms. Dago as well as the car rental company. The lawsuit is claiming that the rental car company was responsible as it was a forseeable risk that impaired people may rent a car. They are claiming that the cars should be equipped with a alcohol ignition device that would measure B.A.C. before the car could start. This is the same device that judges often order certain DUI offenders to install in their vehicles.
Have you or a loved one been arrested for driving under the influence or a traffic infraction? Then call the Pinellas DUI defense attorneys of Blake & Dorsten, P.A. today! These former prosecutors are experienced trial lawyers.
Blake & Dorsten, P.A. handles all criminal and wrongful death cases along the Gulf Coast including Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Citrus, Polk and Hernando counties.
To speak directly to your Clearwater criminal defense lawyer, click on the contact section or call them at 727.286.6141. Blake & Dorsten, P.A…when your case matters!