In March of this year Donte' Stallworth went out drinking at Miami Beach's Fountainebleau hotel. At 7:15am Stallworth left the bar in his Bentley and hit Mario Reyes as he crossed the street. Reyes was not in a crosswalk and was rushing to catch a bus. Stallworth stayed at the scene and immediately admitted to police that he had hit the man. Stallworth stated that he flashed his lights at the pedestrian, but was unable to avoid him. The police noticed the signs of intoxication and administered a blood test. He registered a blood-alcohol level of .126 which is well above the legal limit of .08.
Because of the circumstances surrounding the accident, Stallworth was charged with DUI manslaughter and DUI and an arrest warrant was issued. Stallworth subsequently turned himself in and was released on $200,000.00 bail. Stallworth has taken full responsibility for what happened and today plead guilty to DUI manslaughter. He will serve a 30 day jail sentence, followed by house arrest and probation. He will undergo drug and alcohol testing and community service. He also reached a financial settlement of an undisclosed amount with the family of Mr. Reyes.
The state attorney stated that Stallworth's clean record and cooperation with the investigation, along with accepting responsibility all played an important role in reaching the plea agreement. It is nice to see a high-profile athlete hold himself accountable for his own actions, instead of parking the car in the garage and waiting for the police to arrive. It is unfortunate that this had to happen, but I do think that it was appropriate for the state attorney to give credence to the willingness of the defendant.
