On Thursday, April 15, 2021, at 5:20 a.m., Jesus Rojas Villarroel and his wife, Celenia De Rojas, drove to work like any other day. They stopped at a red light at NW 36th Street and NW 37th Avenue, patiently waiting to continue driving towards their destination. At the same time, a Lamborghini was coming from the opposite direction, driven by a driver who was under the influence, traveling well over the speed limit.
The driver of the Lamborghini lost control of the vehicle, crossed over into oncoming traffic, and crashed into Jesus and Celenia head-on. Jesus suffered facial fractures and is going to need surgery to help heal those fractures. He also suffered a fractured sternum and sustained an eye injury.
79-year-old Jesus only saw the flash right before the crash happened. The police report states that the Lamborghini driver was driving “out of control,” struck two vehicles, and is currently in the hospital now as well.
Jesus is grateful to be alive and that his wife was not as catastrophically injured as him. The Lamborghini was essentially split in half, demonstrating the impact and speed that the Lamborghini was traveling at.
Ward Law represents Villarroel. Attorney Jany Martinez-Ward stated: “we want to send a clear message to the community, don’t drink and drive. We have an impact here of a family that’s now destroyed.”
The Lamborghini driver’s blood alcohol content was .19, well over the Florida blood alcohol content limit of .08%. If you drive with a blood alcohol content level of .08%, you will be arrested for driving under the influence. The Lamborghini driver will face several charges, including damage to property or a person and felony driving under the influence with serious injury.
If the Lamborghini driver is charged with a third-degree felony, he can face up to five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. The driver is currently out on bond for $10,000, and his arraignment date is set for May 14, 2021.
When speaking at a press conference, Jesus emphasized the catastrophic effects that driving under the influence and driving recklessly can have on other drivers and their families.
The attorneys at Ward Law are working diligently to fight for the Villarroel family’s rights. As attorney Gregory Ward said, Ward Law is “retained for catastrophic cases all the time. You never know what you’re going to find. A bar could be responsible, other people who own the vehicle, those kinds of things, we investigate every case, fully, to make sure we bring those people who are responsible to justice.”
Ward Law attorneys are adamantly working to bring justice for Jesus and Celenia. This includes thoroughly investigating the accident details and obtaining evidence, including:
The most crucial part of any legal process is ensuring that the injured parties receive the compensation they deserve after an accident. We are fighting for compensation for Jesus and for criminal action against the Lamborghini driver so that he can be off the roads, unable to cause any future accidents.
The amount of compensation any client could receive is entirely dependent on the facts of each case. We usually complete an analysis of a variety of factors to determine how much compensation our clients can receive. These factors include:
To prove these factors, Ward Law will gather all of the evidence necessary to demonstrate the damages to our client. This will include analyzing previous medical records, showing all of the medical expenses that were a direct result of the accident, and the expected future injuries resulting from the accident.
If an injured party’s lifestyle has to change after the accident, we will use that evidence to ask for additional compensation to help our clients adjust to these lifestyle changes.
In any accident, we must prove that there is strong evidence of negligence. Since the Lamborghini driver blood alcohol content level was much higher than the legally acceptable level, the law supports our clients’ claim that the defendant caused his injuries. Florida negligence laws require the plaintiff to be able to prove:
Specifically, the Lamborghini driver owed every other driver on the road a “duty of care” to drive safely and carefully so as not to cause any injuries. By choosing to drink alcohol before getting behind the wheel and drive recklessly, the Lamborghini driver breached that duty. The Lamborghini driver’s breach of that duty caused our client’s injuries and our client actually sustained injuries. Therefore, we will be able to prove the Lamborghini driver’s negligence.
Based on all of the evidence we will be able to gather, we can show that the defendant’s drunk driving directly caused Jesus’s injuries and the damages to the Villarroel family’s property.
Since Florida is a no-fault state, the Villarroel family will first look to their own insurance company to cover any expenses, up to $10,000. We have extensive experience negotiating with insurance companies and insurance adjusters to ensure that our clients receive the maximum amount of compensation possible to help cover current and future expenses.
For any damages past the $10,000, we will look to the defendant’s insurance company and any potential amounts the defendant will have to pay for restitution for our client.
The criminal process is designed to protect the public from any future harm by the defendant. The criminal process is meant to deter the defendant’s future drunk driving and serve as a lesson for others not to drink and drive. While we are pursuing the civil claims for our client, we will work tirelessly with the prosecutors to ensure that our clients receive justice beyond compensation.
Other punishments besides the potential fine and jail time include suspended or revoked license, mandatory rehabilitation, or any other sentencing elements that the judge will determine in his or her discretion.
The court has discretion in sentencing the defendant. However, we are pursuing a third-degree felony charge. Under Florida law, “Any person who causes serious bodily injury while driving under the influence is guilty of committing a third-degree felony (not more than $5,000 fine and/or five years imprisonment) or as provided in section 775.084, Florida Statutes, if habitual/violent felony offender.”
If a reckless, negligent, or drunk driver caused an accident that caused you injures, contact us now to learn about your legal rights.
Though the outcome for drunk driving accidents varies based on the facts of each case in Florida, we fight for our client’s rights to receive compensation for the damages the drunk driver caused.
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