A man was arrested and charged with DUI manslaughter in connection with an auto accident involving a pedestrian in December.  Chandrashekar Singh has been charged with DUI manslaughter in the death of William C. Morrison.  The Sheriff's Office received a call regarding a vehicle-pedestrian accident that occurred in the parking lot of a Davenport business.

When deputies arrived, a green 2000 Honda Civic was parked in front of a business on Posner Boulevard, which was occupied solely by Singh, according to Sheriff's Office reports.  Singh hit and struck Morrison who was standing near the passenger side of the car as he pulled out of a parking spot at a restaurant where they had been dining together.  The vehicle struck Morrison who fell backwards hitting his head on the pavement and suffered serious injuries.  Morrison died at the scene despite attempts to revive him.

When officers arrived at the scene Singh was sitting in his car parked in the parking lot of the restaurant where he and Morrison had been dining.  Deputies recently arrested Singh after receiving blood test results from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement lab indicating Singh's blood alcohol level was .191, more than twice the legal limit.

Singh was arrested Friday at his residence for DUI manslaughter and was taken to Polk County jail.  Singh is being held under no bond.  "When someone is charged with DUI where there is a fatality, the potential consequences are enormous including state prison," said Polk County DUI lawyer John Musca.  "This is an unfortunate tragedy where two people who apparently knew and liked each other make a terrible mistake which turns out to be fatal for one of them."

Musca Law provides the highest quality criminal litigation services to the residents of Polk County and the surrounding areas.  Our criminal defense attorneys have successfully tried, defended, and appealed hundreds of cases in both state and federal courts throughout Florida. These cases include, but are not limited to, felony cases, misdemeanor cases, DUI, drug crimes, federal crimes, domestic violence, theft crimes, sex crimes, probation violations, white-collar crimes, violent crimes, and motor vehicle offenses. 

If you are arrested for DUI charges in Polk County or elsewhere in Florida, you face very serious consequences including jail time and significant financial costs including fines in excess of $1000, increase in insurance premiums, probation, ignition interlock device, DUI school, and impound costs. 

You also face loss of your driving privileges, which occurs almost immediately after a DUI arrest.  If you refuse to submit to tests administered by the officer at the time of your arrest or fail the test by registering a blood alcohol level over 0.8, your license will be suspended 10 days following your DUI arrest.  This type of suspension is an administrative suspension by the Department of Motor Vehicles.  This means you have very little time to arrange alternate means of transportation including getting to work or your children to school.

A Polk County DUI Attorney can help you protect your driving privileges.  A qualified Florida DUI lawyer can file for a formal review hearing with the local bureau of administrative review.  Formal review hearings will typically be held 3-4 weeks after a DUI arrest.  A DUI attorney can get you a temporary permit so that you can continue driving in the interim period.  Even if you do not prevail in your criminal case and your license is eventually suspended, your DUI attorney can help you gain valuable time to make alternate transportation arrangements.

Once you have been arrested for driving under the influence, it is important to retain an experienced DUI attorney quickly so that the DUI attorney can make a timely request for a formal review hearing.  The DUI attorney also can use the DMV hearing to prepare a defense in your criminal case.  Prior to the DMV hearing, your DUI attorney will get police reports, affidavits and other documents related to your criminal case.  If your DUI attorney finds upon review of the documents that the officer made an error, the attorney may choose not to subpoena the officer and use the error in the documents to get your full driving privileges reinstated.

If the officer shows up at the hearing, your Polk County DUI lawyer will use the hearing to get information from the officer, which can help him build a defense in your criminal case.  On the other hand, the officer may fail to appear allowing your DUI attorney to request the DMV reinstate your unrestricted driver's license.  "Many times those arrested for DUI needlessly have their driver's license suspended," said Musca.  "People just do not realize that the immediate suspension of one's driver's license is not the inevitable result of a DUI arrest."