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Man gets prison time in fatal DUI wreck

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By TOM BRENNAN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 24, 2009

Suneil Persaud

TAMPA - A Lakeland man was sentenced to more than 10 years in prison today for the death of his passenger in an August 2007 wreck.

Suneil Persaud, 38, pleaded no contest in May to a charge of DUI manslaughter in the death of Eric Gerard Broering, 48, of Tampa.

Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Chet A. Tharpe sentenced Persaud to 125 months followed by 55 months of probation.

Persaud was traveling east on Interstate 4 when he lost control of his Dodge sports utility vehicle while trying to change lanes near the Park Street exit in Plant City. The vehicle spun, struck a guardrail and flipped several times, ejecting Broering.

Prosecutors said the Dodge was traveling 90 mph.

Persaud told authorities he was returning home to retrieve his wallet so he could buy beer.

Prosecutors said Persaud's blood-alcohol level was 0.141; state law presumes a driver is impaired at 0.08. Persaud maintained he had one beer the day of the accident and that the level was elevated because of the beers he drank the night before.

Prosecutors said Persaud had a history of drinking problems and of drinking and driving.

He denied it, but his wife testified that she had to call police three times in alcohol-related domestic disputes.

Broering's parents asked Tharpe to mete out the maximum 15-year sentence.

"We want to make sure no other parent has to go through the same thing," said his mother, Irene.

Persaud's family asked for leniency.

Tharpe said Persaud's failure to admit to a problem worried him.

"He's still in denial," he said. "And that is something that concerns me."

Reporter Tom Brennan can be reached at (813) 259-7698.

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