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Man Convicted Of DUI Manslaughter Got License Through Error

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By VALERIE KALFRIN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: March 5, 2009

Updated: 03/05/2009 04:30 pm

William Edward Ham

TAMPA - The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles will review its records after discovering a decade-old paperwork error that enabled a man convicted of felony DUI manslaughter to obtain a valid driver's license, officials said today.

William Edward Ham, 31, of Tampa, had his driver's license revoked for life in 1999 as part of his sentencing in the death of Sandra L. Allen, 36, of Riverview. A circuit court judge also sentenced him to 10 years in a state prison and roughly five years of probation.

But when Ham applied for a license last month, records from the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles showed his license was to be revoked for only three years, not permanently, said David Westberry, the agency's deputy executive director.

The error came to light after a Tampa police officer on Wednesday charged Ham with misdemeanor DUI. An officer found Ham passed out or asleep while idling in a Nissan at a traffic light; his blood-alcohol level registered .180 and .179, police said.

Under Florida law, a person is considered intoxicated at .08.

The officer was surprised to discover the man, who is on probation until 2012, was issued a valid license in February, police said.

Allen's relatives were outraged. "He could've killed somebody. Thank God he didn't," said Allen's grandmother, Louise Armstrong, 81, of Lakeland.

Ham is being held without bail at Orient Road Jail on the probation violation.

Westberry said paperwork from 1999 had noted the judge's lifetime revocation but said Ham was convicted of DUI with serious bodily injury, a crime that did not fit that punishment.

Instead of checking the discrepancy, the agency recorded the punishment for the offense listed. "If we had been a little more due diligent, we would've investigated further," Westberry said.

The agency amended its records as of today to revoke Ham's license permanently, he said.

The agency will review its records to discover whether similar discrepancies exist, agency spokeswoman Ann Nucatola said.

"An issue such as this provides us with an opportunity ... to improve our processes and data integrity," Nucatola said.

The agency has adopted an electronic recordkeeping system over the past decade to ensure accuracy, replacing paper records and manual oversight, Westberry said.

Barring a judge's order, a person convicted of DUI manslaughter can petition to have a driver's license reinstated after five years, state statutes say. That process requires a driving record free of other DUI convictions and an administrative hearing.

Because the agency's records showed the three-year revocation for Ham's license had expired in 2002, he did not have to undergo a hearing when requesting the new license, Westberry said.

Hillsborough County Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi said prosecutors were investigating whether any criminal charges would be filed against Ham for obtaining the license.

On Oct. 21, 1998, Ham was drunk and traveling above the 45 mph posted speed limit on Bloomingdale Avenue when he rear-ended Allen's westbound 1983 Chevrolet, investigators said.

The impact spun Allen's car into a metal railing and then a utility pole, killing her.

Allen had worked as a secretary for the Florida Department of Corrections and celebrated her birthday the day before she died, Armstrong said. That evening, she had been bowling with a cousin.

"She was the most precious thing to me," Armstrong said.

Armstrong still remembers telling Ham at the sentencing that his parents were fortunate to be able to put their arms around him.

"The judge told him he was not to drink or anything," Armstrong said. "We'll just wait and see what they do with him now."

Reporter Valerie Kalfrin can be reached at vkalfrin@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7800.

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