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Trial for man accused of deadly DUI crash in 2018
Gloria Gomez reports
TAMPA, Fla. - From the very beginning, Stephen Paleveda has tried to dodge responsibility for the fiery crash that killed a Tampa grandfather five years ago.
Prosecutor Christine Brown said it was no different at his trial.
"He was the only person that got out of any vehicles that night," explained Brown.
Pictured: Stephen Paleveda.
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The defense, however, hinted someone else may have been behind the wheel of his Ford F-150 pickup truck the night of the deadly collision. Paleveda’s public defender called Dr. John Miller, a mechanical engineer who tested the seatbelts in Paleveda’s truck.
Miller said they wanted to determine if both seatbelts were used that night, but after a thorough examination, they couldn't say for sure. Her said the fire from the crash was too intense.
"There’s just not enough information," he explained.
Pictured: Bamnet Narongchai.
Prosecutors accused Paleveda of driving the wrong way on the Selmon Expressway while drunk back in October 2018. They said he collided head on with another driver, 68-year-old Bamnet Narongchai, who was killed in the fiery collision.
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"The defendant was the driver. He left the scene, he was under the influence, he was driving in a reckless manner and that resulted in the death of our victim," argued Brown.
Investigators said Paleveda then tried to flee the crime scene, but he didn’t get very far. Tampa pPolice Officer James Blanchard said during questioning, Paleveda was acting erratic and even climbed on a police vehicle.
He denied involvement in the crash and appeared unfazed when he told them someone had died in the crash.
"I said it to him like two or three times, and at that point he was rambling, ranting, raving about all kinds of things," he said.
Prosecutors said Paleveda’s blood alcohol level was three times over the legal limit. He was charged with leaving the scene of a crime involving death, DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide and resisting an officer without violence.
The jury is now deliberating and is expected to hand down a ruling in the trial.
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