TICE, Fla. – A driver who was ejected after losing control of his car in a fatal wreck near the intersection of Palm Beach Boulevard and Waverly Avenue back in April has been arrested and is facing charges for vehicular homicide and DUI manslaughter.
Girard Deshon Battles, 40, of 1942 Cox St. in Fort Myers, was driving while under the influence of alcohol when he crashed his car into La Casita de Colores Caravaca on April 17. He was ejected from his vehicle and taken to Lee Memorial Hospital in critical condition, according to the Florida Highway Patrol. His passenger, Darren Lee Pollard, 20, of Fort Myers, was pronounced dead at the scene, troopers said.
Battles was arrested Wednesday after toxicology tests show he had a blood alcohol level of .199, which is well above the .08 limit.