Riverview woman gets 5 years inDUIdeath

A Riverview woman was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for driving drunk and killing a good Samaritan who was trying to help at a crash on Interstate 75 on Oct. 22, 2007.

Jessica Lynn Paquette, 25, was led from the courtroom in handcuffs after Circuit Judge Daniel H. Sleet imposed the sentence.

Paquette pleaded guilty in November to driving under the influence-manslaughter in the death of Amir Sarhaddi, a 29-year-old father of two.

She also pleaded guilty to another DUI charge and one of child neglect from when she was arrested in April 2008 while driving drunk with her 1½-year-old son in the back of the car strapped to a car seat.

Sleet sentenced Paquette to five years in prison on each of the DUI charges and 12 months in jail on the misdemeanor neglect charges. All sentences will be served concurrently.

He permanently revoked her driver's license. She must serve seven years of probation after her release and won't be allowed to enter establishments whose primary business is selling alcohol.

Paquette also was ordered to perform 100 hours of community service.

James Braley, 38, of Tampa, also is charged with DUI manslaughter in Sarhaddi's death. He is awaiting trial.

Braley didn't notice a Jeep in front of him slow down while driving on I-75 just north of the Gibsonton Drive exit, deputies said. Braley's Infiniti hit the Jeep, flipping it over onto the shoulder and into a tree.

Braley's car spun, and it blocked the right and right-center lanes.

Sarhaddi pulled his pickup to the shoulder to help.

Paquette slammed into the Infiniti, hit Sarhaddi and struck the truck of another driver who had stopped to help, investigators said.

Paquette's blood-alcohol level was 0.219 and Braley's was 0.176, investigators said. State law presumes impairment at 0.08.

Sarhaddi's parents read a letter to Sleet about their son.

"Amir had a good heart and always helped someone if he could," they said in the note.

They said he loved football and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He was buried in a Carnell "Cadillac" Williams Buccaneers jersey.