Driver Who Caused Fatal Crash Spared Prison To Pay Victims

ST. PETERSBURG - A Bradenton man who witnesses said was driving recklessly when his car collided with an armored truck on Interstate 275 three years ago, killing the truck's driver, will not spend a day in jail.

Donald Reese, 53, pleaded no contest this month to a charge of vehicular homicide and was sentenced to probation after his attorney argued it would be better for Reese to pay restitution to the estate of the dead man than spend time in prison, court records show.

The amount Reese was ordered to pay the estate of Ira Stringfield is $2,750, computerized court records show. Reese paid the money Friday, six days after he entered his plea.

Reese also was ordered to pay restitution to Stringfield's passenger, Jesus Perez-Guillermety, who was injured in the wreck. That amount was $1,575. Reese also was told to pay the Florida Highway Patrol $5,342, the records show.

Witnesses said that on May 2, 2005, Reese drove a Miata recklessly on I-275 and collided with the armored truck north of the Roosevelt Boulevard exit, court records state. The Miata was weaving in and out of traffic and was going 10 to 15 mph over the speed limit, witnesses told authorities.

After the Miata struck the armored truck, the truck flipped on its side and skidded across the road, through a guardrail and into an embankment, records state.

Reese was facing a possible prison sentence, but his attorney, Kevin Hayslett, asked for a downward departure from sentencing guidelines on the grounds the crime was committed in an unsophisticated manner, it was an isolated incident for which Reese showed remorse, and restitution to the victims outweighed the need for a prison sentence.

"Because the need for Mr. Reese to pay restitution to the Stringfield estate and to Mr. Guillermety outweighs the utility of his incarceration, and also because Mr. Reese would be fully able to pay restitution, this court should sentence him below the sentencing guidelines," Hayslett wrote in a motion that was granted.

"Mr. Reese has the finances to make significant and prompt restitution to the victims," the motion stated.

"In this case, the victims are in great need of restitution because the decedent's family lost a significant source of income and Mr. Guillermety suffered injuries that would have accumulated medical bills," the motion said. "Mr. Reese exercised poor judgment but never possessed any intent to commit a crime or to cause harm."

Assistant State Attorney Holly Grissinger did not return telephone calls to her office over a two-week period. Hayslett, the defense attorney, said Reese originally was looking at a prison term of nine to 10 years.

The judge in the case was told in court, however, that Stringfield's widow was not asking that Reese be put behind bars.

Reporter Stephen Thompson can be reached at spthompson