Ex-DUI driver got license in error
|
|
EAST LAKE - Charles B. Hamilton was released from prison last September after serving seven years for DUI-manslaughter. Two weeks later, he applied for and received his driver’s license. But under state law, Hamilton’s license should have been revoked for the rest of his life. State officials acknowledged this week that Hamilton should not have gotten his license back. It’s not clear how the mistake happened. Hamilton was re-arrested last month on another DUI charge after a deputy saw him driving the wrong way on Tampa Road, the same stretch of street where his deadly DUI accident occurred in 1994. Hamilton is being held at the Pinellas County Jail without bail. He will celebrate his 41st birthday there today. Hamilton was convicted in 1995 of causing the crash that killed Russell Seedner, 36, and his wife, Holly, 31. He had a blood-alcohol level that night more than twice the threshold at which the state presumes it’s unsafe to drive. Though Hamilton was charged with two counts of DUI manslaughter, jurors reduced one of the charges to DUI with serious injury. He was sentenced to 12 years in prison; he served about seven years before his release on Sept. 4, 2002. Though Hamilton’s driver’s license should have been revoked for life, he applied for one and received it on Sept. 18, 2002. For some reason, records at the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles did not reflect that Hamilton had been convicted of DUI manslaughter, which would have prevented him from getting the license, said Bob Sanchez, the department spokesman. The records only reflected the conviction for DUI with serious injury, which carries just a five-year suspension. Sanchez said his deparment never received the record that Hamilton had been convicted of DUI manslaughter, which is supposed to be sent by the Clerk of the Circuit Court’s office. But Karleen DeBlaker, clerk of the circuit court in Pinellas, said her records indicate that information was sent to the state. “We did send it and apparently they didn’t get it,” DeBlaker said. “But it was sent right after the judgment and sentencing.” No one knows what happened. Sanchez said that his department tracks more than 3.9-million traffic violations per year. “There’s a lot to keep track of,” he said. “That’s not to make excuses though … especially when there is a risk to highway safety. It needs to be as close to perfect as it can be.” Deputies said Hamilton nearly hit two cars head-on on Nov. 2 while he drove the wrong way down Tampa Road. Deputies pulled him over and learned his blood-alcohol reading was almost three times the level at which the state presumes impairment. Not only was he charged with drunken driving, but with violating the conditions of his probation. Prosecutors plan to seek the maximum prison sentence against Hamilton, which would be about 10 years. DeBlaker said her office recently received a request from the state for the DUI-manslaughter record, which will suspend Hamilton’s license forever. “They’ve got it now, so he shouldn’t have a license anymore,” she said. |