Ronald Judson Smith received a DUI sentence of 30 years for causing the death of a 7-year old girl in a drunk driving accident that took place in 2009. The Port Charlotte man was sentenced Tuesday following a denial for a new trial. Smith was convicted in April of seven charges including driving on a suspended license from a previous DUI.
Smith was accused of being drunk when he ran a red light on Toledo Blade Blvd. and State Road 776. He slammed his truck into a Ford Mustang carrying a father and his two daughters. Sarah-Dian Heineman, her father Rick Heineman and her sister Madison were all hospitalized following the crash. Sarah died ten days later.
Smith was seen throwing beer cans from his truck the night of the fatal accident and investigators also found prescription painkillers near the scene of the accident as well. His blood test results showed traces of marijuana, Xanax and oxycodone at the time of the accident. Smith blamed the brakes on his pick-up truck for being the culprit in his accident but a jury didn’t seem to buy his reasoning considering the guilty verdict.
Smith and his Florida DUI lawyer tried to get the judge to throw out the conviction and grant the man a new trial. They claimed Smith was detained with excessive force and that officers didn’t fully report details about an odor of alcohol on Smith. That request for a new trial was denied on Monday.
On top of the 30 year DUI prison sentence the judge handed down, Smith also received a lifetime license revocation. Smith is 25-years old and his DUI penalties could keep him in jail until he is in his fifties.