This browser does not support the Video element.
Drunk driver sentenced after trial delays
Lloyd Sowers reports.
TAMPA, Fla. - A man who is accused of killing a mother of three while driving drunk is headed to prison two and a half years after the fatal crash after striking a deal with the state.
Prosecutors say Joseph Higgins was drunk when he slammed into Karrie Lewis on Jan. 3, 2021. Lewis died from severe injuries she suffered in that crash.
Higgins was arrested months later on DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide charges, but prosecutors say he did everything he could to delay his trial.
The trial was set for last October, then moved to June 2023, and that's when Higgins decided to skip town.
RELATED: Fugitive accused in deadly DUI crash tries delay tactic after skipping trial in June
He was re-arrested and put in jail, but then he claimed he wasn't mentally fit to stand trial. So, a psychiatrist examined him and said he was competent.
Higgins is accused of being drunk when he slammed into Karrie Lewis's vehicle, killing the mother of three.
Last Friday he agreed to a plea deal that will send him to prison for 20 years, followed by 10 years probation, and he will never drive again.
On Monday, members of Lewis' family spoke in court and talked about her children.
READ: Suspect in Plant City homicide arrested after car crash, police say
"Karrie’s middle child was fast asleep in the car. He has told us several times that the last thing he said to his mother was Mommy, I love you.," shared Lynn Chartier, Lewis' mother.
Karrie Lewis died from the severe injuries she suffered in the 2021 crash.
"We had no other choice but to explain to them that their mother was with God now," said Lewis' sister, Krystal Cleaves.
Chartier told the court it had been 957 days since the crash, but she said the profound loss will be felt by this family forever.