Wrongful Prosecution of the Death of an Individual with Police Not Doing Their Job

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I was driving down an Interstate in Jacksonville, Florida, when a person on a motorcycle hit my car and flippping over the hood and was pushed under my car for a few seconds while I was driving about 55 miles per hour. He was speeding, not wearing a helmet, and was weaving in and out of traffic. Fifteen seconds before his exit, he whipped in front of my car to exit to my right on an interstate exit, and misjudged my car's distance and hit me. I was wrongfully charged with the accident due to the police officers not taking any statements from the people who stopped to be witnesses and help with the accident, and due to the fact that I am a long term pain management patient and had to take medication for my condition. They immediately life flighted the man to the hospital and made an ambulance come and take my blood for forensic examination at the University of Florida. My bloodwork came back two years later to be within theraputic range, but the county Prosecuter wanted to continue with the case, so they charged me with Vehicular Homicide anyway instead of DUI Manslaughter, which is what they were charging me with two days after the accident, and before they even received my bloodwork back. The man died a month later in the hospital from sepsis, and they said if I hadn't have hit him, he wouldn't be in the hospital and wouldn't have died. For two and a half years, I knew I was going to have to go to jail eventually, and be charged with something. It was the worse two and a half years of my life. I suffered from post traumatic stress syndrome, anxiety disorder, and could not keep a job due my mental state and the medicine I had to take. If the police would have taken the witnesses statements, they would have known from the beginning that I was driving correctly, that the man who saw him speeding and weaving in and out of traffic, and the nurse who stopped to help who said I seemed fine other than being in shock. This could happen to anyone who takes pain medication even if they are immune to its affects due to being used to taking it. There needs to be laws that govern the limits of what is the exact amount of narcotics that can be in your system to be able to drive, since there are no standards in Florida that govern narcotic amounts like they have for alchohol. If one broke their arm, and took pain medicine and had to drive to work after getting used to the medicine, and they are involved in an automobile accident, then they could be liable for the wreck, even if it is not their fault. I would like this to be addressed on a show, and I would be willing to share my story on television to help others see what a problem this is becoming due to prosecuters trying to "crack down" on drugs and driving, even if it is not illegal to drive on the medication according to my doctor. I was faced with 10 years in prison with no possibility of parole, or being found not guilty. I declined the jury and went before one judge to decide my fate, and I won. But I took a huge chance, since I would have missed out on my son's high school graduation, his collage carreer, his wedding, him having children, etc. This is a huge problem that needs to be addressed, since I am sure this has happened to others, who were not so fortunate as I was. It is imparative that the laws are clear on how much pain medicine is too much, although you can be told by a doctor you can drive on your dose, the law doesn't always agree with this amount, and you could be charged with a DUI, or worse in my case. Please contact me about this issue, so that others can be aware of this failure of justice.

Sincerely,

Ursula Oliver

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